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DURHAM  : NORTH  CAROLINA 


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CIVILIZATION 

IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


FIRST  AND  LAST  IMPRESSIONS 
OF  AMERICA 


CIVILIZATION 

IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


FIRST  AND  LAST  IMPRESSIONS 
OF  AMERICA 


BY 

MATTHEW  ARNOLD 


BOSTON 

DeWOLFE,  FISKE  & CO. 
1900 


Copyright,  1888, 

By  Cupples  and  Hurd. 

ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED. 


SIXTH  EDITION. 


S.2.4&5 
PtV  61  f 


I 


CONTENTS. 


I.  General  Grant.  An  Estimate. 


Part  1 3 

Part  Xi.  . ....  33 

II.  A Word  about  America  ....  69 

III.  A Word  More  about  America  . . . in 


IV.  Civilization  in  the  United  States  . . 157 


GENERAL  GRANT. 


' 


GENERAL  GRANT. 


Part  I. 

I have  heard  it  said,  I know  not  with  what 
degree  of  truth,  that  while  the  sale  in  America 
of  General  Grant’s  Personal  Memoirs  has  pro- 
duced three  hundred  thousand  dollars  for  the 
benefit  of  his  widow  and  family,  there  have  not 
in  England  been  sold  of  the  book  three  hundred 
copiesl  Certainly  the  book  has  had  no  wide 
circulation  here,  it  has  not  been  much  read  or 
much  discussedl  There  are  obvious  reasons  for 
thisl  The  book  relates  in  great  detail  the  mili- 
tary history  of  the  American  Civil  War,  so  far 
as  Grant  bore  part  in  it  ; such  a history  cannot 
possibly  have  for  other  nations  the  interest 
which  it  has  for  the  United  States  themselves^ 
For  the  general  reader  outside  of  America,  it 
certainly  cannot ; as  to  the  value  and  importance 
of  the  history  to  the  military  specialist,  that  is 
a question  on  which  I hear  very  conflicting  opin- 
ions expressed,  and  one  on  which  I myself  can 


4 


General  Grant. 


have,  of  course,  no  opinion  to  offer|  So  far  as 
the  general  European  reader  might  still  be  at- 
tracted to  such  a history,  in  spite  of  its  military 
details,  for  the  sake  of  the  importance  of  the 
issues  at  stake  and  of  the  personages  engaged,  we 
in  Europe  have,  it  cannot  be  denied,  in  approach- 
ing an  American  recital  of  the  deeds  of  “ the 
greatest  nation  upon  earth,”  some  apprehension 
and  mistrust  to  get  overl  We  may  be  pardoned 
for  doubting  whether  we  shall  in  the  recital  find 
measure,  whether  we  shall  find  sobrietyl  Then, 
too,  General  Grant,  the  central  figure  of  these 
Memoirs,  is  not  to  the  English  imagination  the 
hero  of  the  American  Civil  War  ; the  hero  is 
Lee,  and  of  Lee  the  Memoirs  tell  us  little! 
Moreover  General  Grant,  when  he  was  in  Eng- 
land, did  not  himself  personally  interest  people 
much!  Later  he  fell  in  America  into  the  hands 
of  financing  speculators,  and  his  embarrass- 
ments, though  they  excited  sorrow  and  compas- 
sion, did  not  at  all  present  themselves  to  us  as 
those  of  “ a good  man  struggling  with  adversityl” 
For  all  these  reasons,  then,  the  P ersonal Memoirs 
have  in  England  been  received  with  coldness  and 
indifference! 

I,  too,  had  seen  General  Grant  in  England,  and 
did  not  find  him  interesting!  If  I said  the  truth, 
I should  say  that  I thought  him  ordinary-looking, 


General  Grant. 


5 


dull  and  silentl  An  expression  of  gentleness 
and  even  sweetness  in  the  eyes,  which  the  por- 
traits in  the  Memoirs  show,  escaped  met  A 
strong,  resolute,  business-like  man,  who  by  pos- 
session of  unlimited  resources  in  men  and 
money,  and  by  the  unsparing  use  of  them,  had 
been  enabled  to  wear  down  and  exhaust  the 
strength  of  the  South,  this  was  what  I supposed 
Grant  to  be,  this  and  little  morel 
Some  documents  published  by  General  Badeau 
in  the  American  newspapers  first  attracted  my 
serious  attention  to  Grant|  Among  those  docu- 
ments was  a letter  from  him  which  showed  quali- 
ties for  which,  in  the  rapid  and  uncharitable  view 
which  our  cursory  judgments  of  men  so  often 
take,  I had  by  no  means  given  him  creditf  It 
was  the  letter  of  a man  with  the  virtue,  rare 
everywhere,  but  more  rare  in  America,  perhaps, 
Than  anywhere  else,  the  virtue  of  being  able  to 
confront  and  resist  popular  clamour,  the  civium 
ardor prava  jnbentium\  Public  opinion  seemed 
in  favour  of  a hard  and  insolent  course,  the  au- 
thorities seemed  putting  pressure  upon  Grant  to 
make  him  follow  it|  He  resisted  with  firmness 
and  dignityl  After  reading  that  letter  I turned 
to  General  Grant’s  Personal  Memoirs , then  just 
publishedl  This  man,  I said  to  myself,  deserves 
respect  and  attention  ; and  I read  the  two  bulky 
volumes  throughl 


6 


General  Grant. 


I found  shown  in  them  a man,  strong,  resolute, 
and  business-like,  as  Grant  had  appeared  to  me 
when  I firs-t  saw  him  ; a man  with  no  magical 
personality,  touched  by  no  divine  light  and  giv- 
ing out  nonel  I found  a language  all  astray  in 
its  use  of  will  and  shall , should  and  would,  an 
English  employing  the  verb  to  conscript  and  the 
participle  conscripting,  and  speaking  in  a de- 
spatch to  the  Secretary  of  War  of  having  badly 
whipped  the  enemy  ; an  English  without  charm 
and  without  high  breeding!  But  at  the  same 
time  I found  a man  of  sterling  good-sense  as  well 
as  of  the  firmest  resolution ; a man,  withal,  hu- 
mane, simple,  modest ; from  all  restless  self-con- 
sciousness and  desire  for  display  perfectly  free  ; 
never  boastful  where  he  himself  was  concerned, 
and  where  his  nation  was  concerned  seldom 
boastful,  boastful  only  in  circumstances  where 
nothing  but  high  genius  or  high  training,  I sup- 
pose, can  save  an  American  from  being  boastfull 
I found  a language  straightforward,  nervous, 
firm,  possessing  in  general  the  high  merit  of  say- 
ing clearly  in  the  fewest  possible  words  what  had 
to  be  said,  and  saying  it,  frequently,  with  shrewd 
and  unexpected  turns  of  expression!  The  Me- 
moirs renewed  and  completed  the  expression 
which  the  letter  given  by  General  Badeau  had 
made  upon  me|  And  now  I want  to  enable 


General  Grant. 


7 


Grant  and  his  Memoirs  as  far  as  possible  to 
speak  for  themselves  to  the  English  public, 
which  knows  them,  I believe,  as  imperfectly  as 
a few  months  ago  I myself  did| 

General  Grant  was  born  at  Point  Pleasant,  in 
the  State  of  Ohio,  on  the  27th  of  April,  1822I 
His  name,  Ulysses , makes  one  think  of  Tristram. 
Shandy ; but  how  often  do  American  names 
make  one  think  of  Tristram  Shandy  I The 
father  of  the  little  Ulysses  followed  the  trade  of 
a tanner ; he  was  a constant  reader  both  of 
books  and  newspapers,  and  “ before  he  was 
twenty  years  of  age  was  a constant  contributor,” 
his  son  tells  us,  “ to  Western  newspapers,  and 
was  also,  from  that  time,  until  he  was  fifty  years 
old,  an  able  debater  in  the  societies  for  this 
purpose,  which  were  then  common  in  the 
West*”  Of  many  and  many  an  American 
farmer  and  tradesman  this  is  the  historyl 
General  Grant,  however,  never  shared  the 
paternal  and  national  love  for  public  speakingj 
As  to  his  schooling,  he  never,  he  tells  us,  missed 
a quarter  from  school,  from  the  time  he  was  old 
enough  to  attend  till  the  time  when  he  left 
home,  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  for  the  Military 
Academy  at  West  PointJ  But  the  instruction 
in  the  country  schools  at  that  time  was  very 
poor  f — 


8 


General  Grant. 


“ A single  teacher — who  was  often  a man  or  a 
woman  incapable  of  teaching  much,  even  if  they 
imparted  all  they  knew — would  have  thirty  or 
forty  scholars,  male  and  female,  from  the  infant 
learning  the  A B C,  up  to  the  young  lady  of 
eighteen  and  the  boy  of  twenty  studying  the 
highest  branches  taught — the  three  R’sl  I 
never  saw  an  algebra,  or  other  mathematical 
work  higher  than  the  arithmetic,  until  after  I 
was  appointed  to  West  PointJ  I then  bought  a 
work  on  algebra  in  Cincinnati ; but,  having  no 
teacher,  it  was  Greek  to  met” 

This  schooling  is  unlike  that  of  our  young 
gentlemen  preparing  for  Sandhurst  or  Woolwich, 
but  still  more  unlike  theirs  is  Grant’s  life  out  of 
school-hoursl  He  has  told  us  how  regularly 
he  attended  his  school,  such  as  it  was!  He 
proceeds : 

“This  did  not  exempt  me  from  labouri  In 
my  early  days,  every  one  laboured  more  or  less 
in  the  region  where  my  youth  was  spent,  and 
more  in  proportion  to  their  private  meansl  It 
was  only  the  very  poor  who  were  exemptl  While 
my  father  carried  on  the  manufacture  of  leather 
and  worked  at  the  trade  himself,  he  owned  and 
tilled  considerable  land|  I detested  the  trade, 
preferring  almost  any  other  labour ; but  I was 
fond  of  agriculture  and  of  all  employments  in 


General  Grant. 


9 


which  horses  were  usedl  We  had,  among  other 
lands,  fifty  acres  of  forest  within  a mile  of  the 
village|  In  the  fall  of  the  year  choppers  were 
employed  to  cut  enough  wood  to  last  a twelve- 
monthl  When  I was  seven  or  eight  years  of  age 
I began  hauling  all  the  wood  used  in  the  house 
and  shops|  I could  not  load  it  on  the  wagons, 
of  course,  at  that  time,  but  I could  drive,  and 
the  choppers  would  load,  and  some  one  at  the 
house  unloadl  When  about  eleven  years  old,  I 
was  strong  enough  to  hold  a plough!  From  that 
age  until  seventeen  I did  all  the  work  done  with 
horses,  such  as  breaking  up  the  land,  furrowing, 
ploughing  corn  and  potatoes,  bringing  in  the 
crops  when  harvested,  hauling  all  the  wood,  be- 
sides tending  two  or  three  horses,  a cow  or  two, 
and  sawing  wood  for  stoves,  &c.,  while  still  at- 
tending school!  For  this  I was  compensated  by 
the  fact  that  there  never  was  any  scolding  or 
punishing  by  my  parents  : no  objection  to  ra- 
tional enjoyments,  such  as  fishing,  going  to  the 
creek  a mile  away  to  swim  in  summer ; taking  a 
horse  and  visiting  my  grandparents  in  the  ad- 
joining county,  fifteen  miles  off  ; skating  on  the 
ice  in  winter,  or  taking  a horse  and  sleigh  when 
there  was  snow  on  the  ground!” 

The  bringing  up  of  Abraham  Lincoln  was 
also,  I suppose,  much  on  this  wise  ; and  meagre, 


IO 


Ge7ieral  Grant. 


too  meagre,  as  may  have  been  the  schooling,  I 
confess  I am  inclined  on  the  whole  to  exclaim  : 
“What  a wholesome  bringing  up  it  was!” 

I must  find  room  for  one  story  of  Grant’s  boy- 
hood, a story  which  he  tells  against  himself  | — 

“ There  was  a Mr.  Ralston  living  within  a few 
miles  of  the  village,  who  owned  a colt  that  I 
very  much  wantedf  My  father  had  offered 
twenty  dollars  for  it,  but  Ralston  wanted  twenty- 
five!  I was  so  anxious  to  have  the  colt,  that, 
after  the  owner  left,  I begged  to  be  allowed  to 
take  him  at  the  price  demanded!  My  father 
yielded,  but  said  twenty  dollars  was  all  the  horse 
was  worth,  and  told  me  to  offer  that  price;  if  it 
was  not  accepted,  I might  offer  twenty-two  and 
a half,  and  if  that  would  not,  get  him,  might  give 
the  twenty-five|  I at  once  mounted  a horse  and 
went  for  the  coltj  When  I got  to  Mr.  Ralston’s 
house,  I said  to  him  : ‘ Papa  says  I may  offer  you 
twenty  dollars  for  the  colt,  but  if  you  won’t  take 
that,  I am  to  offer  twenty-two  and  a half,  and  if 
you  won’t  take  that,  to  give  you  twenty-five!’ 
It  would  not  require  a Connecticut  man  to  guess 
the  price  finally  agreed  upon|  I could  not  have 
been  over  eight  years  old  at  the  time!  This 
transaction  caused  me  great  heart-burning^  The 
story  got  amongst  the  boys  of  the  village,  and  it 
was  a long  time  before  I heard  the  last  of  it|  ” 


General  Grant. 


1 1 

The  boys  of  the  village  may  well  have  been 
amused|  How  astounding  to  find  an  American 
boy  so  little  “’cute,”  so  little  “smartf”  But 
how  delightful  also,  and  how  refreshing ; how 
full  of  promise  for  the  boy’s  future  character  I 
Grant  came  in  later  life  to  see  straight  and 
to  see  clear,  more  than  most  men,  more  than 
even  most  Americans,  whose  virtue  it  is  that  in 
v' ' matters  within  their  range  they  see  straight  and 
see  clear;  but  he  never  was  in  the  least  “smart,” 
and  it  is  one  of  his  merits| 

The  United  States  Senator  for  Ohio  procured 
for  young  Grant,  when  he  was  seventeen  years 
old,  a nomination  to  West  Pointf  He  was  not 
himself  eager  for  itj  His  father  one  day  said  to 
him  : “Ulysses,  I believe  you  are  going  to  receive 
the  appointment#”  “What  appointment?”  I 
enquired!  “To  West  Point ; I have  applied  for 
it|”  “But  I won’t  go,”  I said|  He  said  he 
thought  I would,  and  I thought  so  too,  if  he  did\ 
I really  had  no  objection  to  going  to  West 
Point,  except  that  I had  a very  exalted  idea  of 
the  acquirements  necessary  to  get  through|  I 
did  not  believe  I possessed  them,  and  could  not 
bear  the  idea  of  failing!” 

He  did  go|  Although  he  had  no  military 
ardour  he  desired  to  see  the  world|  Already  he 
had  seen  more  of  it  than  most  of  the  boys  of  his 


12 


General  Gra7it. 


village ; he  had  visited  Cincinnati,  the  principal 
city  of  his  native  State,  and  Louisville,  the 
principal  city  of  the  adjoining  State  of  Ken- 
tucky ; he  had  also  been  out  as  far  as  Wheeling 
in  Virginia,  and  now,  if  he  went  to  West  Point, 
he  would  have  the  opportunity  of  seeing  Phila- 
delphia and  New  York|  “When  these  places 
were  visited,”  he  says,  “I  would  have  been  glad 
to  have  had  a steamboat  or  railroad  collision,  or 
any  other  accident  happen,  by  which  I might 
have  received  a temporary  injury  sufficient  to 
make  me  ineligible  for  awhile  to  enter  the  Acad- 
emyj”  He  took  his  time  on  the  road,  and  hav- 
ing left  home  in  the  middle  of  May,  did  not 
arrive  at  West  Point  until  the  end  of  the  monthj 
Two  weeks  later  he  passed  his  examination  for 
admission,  very  much,  he  tells  us,  to  his  surprise^ 
But  none  of  his  professional  studies  interested 
him,  though  he  did  well  in  mathematics,  which 
he  found,  he  says,  very  easy  to  himj  Through- 
out his  first  year  he  found  the  life  tedious,  read 
novels,  and  had  no  intention  of  remaining  in 
the  army,  even  if  he  should  succeed  in  gradu- 
ating at  the  end  of  his  four  years’  course,  a 
success  which  he  did  not  expect  to  attain^ 
When  in  1839  ^ Bill  was  discussed  in  Congress 
for  abolishing  the  Military  Academy,  he  hoped 
the  Bill  might  pass,  and  so  set  him  free^  But 


General  Grant. 


13 


it  did  not  pass,  and  a year  later  he  would  have 
been  sorry,  he  says,  if  it  had  passed,  although 
he  still  found  his  life  at  West  Point  dull|  His 
last  two  years  went  quicker  than  his  first  two  ; 
but  they  still  seemed  to  him  “about  five  times 
as  long  as  Ohio  years|T  At  last  all  his  exam- 
inations were  passed,  he  was  appointed  to  an 
infantry  regiment,  and,  before  joining,  went 
home  on  leave  with  a desperate  cough  and  a 
stature  which  had  run  up  too  fast  for  his 
strengthf 

In  September,  1843,  he  joined  his  regiment, 
the  4th  United  States  infantry,  at  Jefferson 
Barracks,  St.  Louis.  No  doubt  his  training  at 
West  Point,  an  establishment  with  a public  and 
high  standing,  and  with  serious  studies,  had 
been  invaluable  to  himj  But  still  he  had  no 
desire  to  remain  in  the  army|  At  St.  Louis  he 
met  and  became  attached  to  a young  lady  whom 
he  afterwards  married,  Miss  Dent,  and  his  hope 
was  to  become  an  assistant  professor  of  mathe- 
matics at  West  Pointj  With  this  hope  he  re- 
read at  Jefferson  Barracks  his  West  Point 
mathematics,  and  pursued  a course  of  historical 
study  alsog  But  the  Mexican  war  came  on  and 
kept  him  in  the  armyj 

With  the  annexation  of  Texas  in  prospect, 
Grant’s  regiment  was  moved  to  Fort  Jessup,  on 


14 


General  Grant. 


the  western  border  of  Louisiana)  Ostensibly 
the  American  troops  were  to  prevent  filibuster- 
ing into  Texas ; really  they  were  sent  as  a 
menace  to  Mexico  in  case  she  appeared  to  con- 
template wai|  Grant’s  life  in  Louisiana  was 
pleasant|  plenty  of  professional  duty, 

many  of  his  brother  officers  having  been  de- 
tailed on  special  duty  away  from  the  regiment. 
He  gave  up  the  thought  of  becoming  a teacher 
of  mathematics,  and  read  only  for  his  own 
amusement,  “and  not  very  much  for  that he 
kept  a horse  and  rode,  visited  the  planters  on 
the  Red  River ; and  was  out  of  doors  the  whole 
day  nearly ; and  so  he  quite  recovered  from  the 
cough,  and  the  threatenings  of  consumption, 
which  he  had  carried  with  him  from  West 
Point|  “ I have  often  thought,”  he  adds,  “ that 
my  life  was  saved,  and  my  health  restored,  by 
exercise  and  exposure  enforced  by  an  adminis- 
trative act  and  a war,  both  of  which  I dis- 
approved!” 

For  disapprove  the  menace  to  Mexico,  and 
the  subsequent  war,  he  didj  One  lingers  over 
a distinguished  man’s  days  of  growth  and  for- 
mation, so  important  for  all  which  is  to  come 
after)  And  already,  under  young  Grant’s  plain 
exterior  and  air  of  indifference,  there  had  grown 
up  in  him  an  independent  and  sound  judgment^ 


General  Grant. 


15 


“ Generally  the  officers  of  the  army  were  indif- 
ferent whether  the  annexation  was  consum- 
mated or  not ; but  not  so  all  of  themj  For  my- 
self, I was  bitterly  opposed  to  the  measure,  and 
to  this  day  regard  the  war  which  resulted  as  one 
of  the  most  unjust  ever  waged  by  a stronger 
against  a weaker  nationj” 

Texas  was  annexed,  a territory  larger  than 
the  Austrian  Empire  ; and  after  taking  military 
possession  of  Texas,  the  American  army  of 
occupation,  under  General  Taylor,  went  on  and 
occupied  some  more  disputed  territory  beyondf 
Even  here  they  did  not  stop,  but  went  further 
on  still,  meaning  apparently  to  force  the  Mexi- 
cans to  attack  them  and  begin  war|  “We  were 
sent  to  provoke  war,  but  it  was  essential  that 
Mexico  should  commence  it|  It  was  very  doubt- 
ful whether  Congress  would  declare  war  ; but  if 
Mexico  should  attack  our  troops,  the  Executive 
could  announce:  ‘Whereas  war  exists  by  the 
acts  of,  etc.,’  and  prosecute  the  contest  with 
vigour|  Once  initiated,  there  were  few  public 
men  who  would  have  the  courage  to  oppose  it|” 
Incensed  at  the  Americans  fortifying  them- 
selves on  the  Rio  Grande,  opposite  Matamoras, 
the  Mexicans  at  last  fired  the  necessary  shot, 
and  the  war  was  commenced|  This  was  in 
March  i^6f  In  September  1847  the  American 


i6 


General  Grant. 


army  entered  the  city  of  Mexicol  Vera  Cruz, 
Puebla,  and  other  principal  cities  of  the  country, 
were  already  in  their  possession^  In  February 
1848  was  signed  the  treaty  which  gave  to  the 
United  States  Texas  with  the  Rio  Grande  for 
its  boundary,  and  the  whole  territory  then  in- 
cluded in  New  Mexico  and  Upper  California| 
For  New  Mexico  and  California,  however,  the 
Americans  paid  a sum  of  fifteen  millions  of  dol- 
lars! 

Grant  marks  with  sagacity  and  justness  the 
causes  and  effects  of  the  Mexican  war|  As  the 
North  grew  in  numbers  and  population,  the  South 
required  more  territory  to  counterbalance  it ; to 
maintain  through  this  wide  territory  the  institu- 
tion of  slavery,  it  required  to  have  control  of  the 
national  Government!  With  great  energy  and 
ability,  it  obtained  this  control ; it  acquired 
Texas  and  other  large  regions  for  slavery ; it 
proceeded  to  use  the  powers  of  Government,  in 
the  North  as  well  as  in  the  South,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  securing  and  maintaining  its  hold  upon 
its  slavesl  But  the  wider  the  territory  over 
which  slavery  was  spread,  and  the  more  numer- 
ous the  slaves,  the  greater  became  the  difficulty 
of  making  this  hold  quite  secure,  and  the 
stronger  grew  the  irritation  of  the  North  to  see 
the  powers  and  laws  of  the  whole  nation  used 


General  Grant. 


1 7 


for  the  purpose!  The  Fugitive  Slave  Law 
brought  this  irritation  to  its  height,  made  it 
uncontrollable,  and  the  War  of  Secession  was 
the  result!  “The  Southern  rebellion,”  says 
Grant,  “ was  largely  the  outgrowth  of  the  Mexi- 
can wart  Nations,  like  individuals,  are  punished 
for  their  transgressions!  We  got  our  punish- 
ment in  the  most  sanguinary  and  expensive  war 
of  modern  times^’ 

The  part  of  Grant  in  the  Mexican  war  was  of 
course  that  of  a young  subaltern  only,  and  is 
described  by  him  with  characteristic  modestyl 
He  showed,  however,  of  what  good  stuff  he  was 
made,  and  his  performances  with  a certain  how- 
itzer in  a church-steeple  so  pleased  his  general 
that  he  sent  for  Grant,  commended  him,  and 
ordered  a second  howitzer  to  be  placed  at  his 
disposal!  A captain  of  voltigeurs  came  with 
the  gun  in  charge.  “ I could  not  tell  the  gen- 
eral,” says  Grant,  “that  there  was  not  room 
enough  in  the  steeple  for  another  gun,  because 
he  probably  would  have  looked  upon  such  a 
statement  as  a contradiction  from  a second  lieu- 
tenantl  I took  the  captain  with  me,  but  did 
not  use  his  gun|” 

When  the  evacuation  of  Mexico  was  com- 
pleted, Grant  married,  in  August  1848,  Miss 
Julia  Dent,  to  whom  he  had  been  engaged  more 


1 8 General  Grant. 

than  four  yearsl  For  two  years  the  young  cou- 
ple lived  at  Detroit  in  Michigan,  where  Grant 
was  now  stationed  ; he  was  then  ordered  to  the 
Pacific  coast|  It  was  settled  that  Mrs.  Grant 
should,  during  his  absence,  live  with  her  own 
family  in  St.  Louisl  The  regiment  went  first 
to  Aspinwall,  then  to  California  and  Oregon) 
In  1853  Grant  became  captain,  but  he  had  now 
two  children,  and  saw  no  chance  of  supporting 
his  family  on  his  pay  as  an  army  officerl  He 
determined  to  resign,  and  in  the  following  year 
he  did  so|  He  left  the  Pacific  coast,  he  tells 
us,  very  much  attached  to  it,  and  with  the  full 
intention  of  one  day  making  his  home  there,  an 
intention  which  he  did  not  abandon  until,  in  the 
winter  of  1863-4,  Congress  passed  the  Act  ap- 
pointing him  Lieutenant-General  of  the  armies 
of  the  United  States| 

His  life  on  leaving  the  army  offers,  like  his 
early  training,  a curious  contrast  to  what  usually 
takes  place  amongst  ourselvesl  First  he  tried 
farming,  on  a farm  belonging  to  his  wife  near 
St.  Louis ; but  he  could  not  make  it  answer, 
though  he  worked  hardf  He  had  insufficient 
capital,  and  more  than  sufficient  fever  and  ague| 
After  four  years  he  established  a partnership 
with  a cousin  of  his  wife  named  Harry  Boggs, 
in  a real  estate  agency  business  in  St.  Louis|  He 


General  Grant. 


19 


found  that  the  business  was  not  more  than  one 
person  could  do,  and  not  enough  to  support  two 
families!  So  he  withdrew  from  the  co-partnership 
with  Boggs,  and  in  May  i860  removed  to 
Galena,  Illinois,  and  took  a clerkship  in  a leather 
shop  there  belonging  to  his  father! 

Politics  now  began  to  interest  him,  and  his 
reflexions  on  them  at  the  moment  when  the 
War  of  Secession  was  approaching  I must 
quote  | 

“ Up  to  the  Mexican  war  there  were  a few  out 
and  out  abolitionists,  men  who  carried  their  hos- 
tility to  slavery  into  all  elections,  from  those  for 
a justice  of  the  peace  up  to  the  Presidency  of 
the  United  Statesf  They  were  noisy  but  not 
numerous|  But  the  great  majority  of  people  at 
the  North,  where  slavery  did  not  exist,  were 
opposed  to  the  institution,  and  looked  upon  its 
existence  in  any  part  of  the  country  as  unfortu- 
nate! They  did  not  hold  the  States  where 
slavery  existed  responsible  for  it,  and  believed 
that  protection  should  be  given  to  the  right  of 
property  in  slaves  until  some  satisfactory  way 
could  be  reached  to  be  rid  of  the  institution| 
Opposition  to  slavery  was  a creed  of  neither 
political  party!  But  with  the  inauguration  of 
the  Mexican  war,  in  fact  with  the  annexation  of 
Texas,  the  inevitable  conflict  commenced!  As 


20 


General  Grant. 


the  time  for  the  Presidenta]  election  of  1856  — 
the  first  at  which  I had  the  opportunity  of  voting 
— approached,  party  feeling  began  to  run  highf” 

Grant  himself  voted  in  1856  for  Buchanan, 
the  candidate  of  the  Slave  States,  because  he 
saw  clearly,  he  says,  that  in  the  exasperation  of 
feeling  at  that  time,  the  election  of  a Republican 
President  meant  the  secession  of  all  the  Slave 
States,  and  the  plunging  of  the  country  into  a 
war  of  which  no  man  could  foretell  the  issued 
He  hoped  that  in  the  course  of  the  next  four 
years  — the  Slave  States  having  got  a President 
of  their  own  choice,  and  being  without  a pretext 
for  secession  — men’s  passions  would  quiet 
down,  and  the  catastrophe  be  averted|  Even  if 
it  was  not,  he  thought  the  country  would  by 
that  time  be  better  prepared  to  receive  the 
shock  and  to  resist  itf 

I am  not  concerned  to  discuss  Grant’s  reasons 
for  his  vote,  but  I wish  to  remark  how  com- 
pletely his  reflexions  dispose  of  the  reproaches 
addressed  so  often  by  Americans  to  England 
for  not  sympathising  with  the  North  attacking 
slavery,  in  a war  with  the  South  upholding  i^ 
From  what  he  says  it  is  evident  how  very  far 
the  North  was,  when  the  war  began,  from  at- 
tacking slaveryl  Grant  himself  was  not  for 
attacking  it ; Lincoln  was  not!  They,  and  the 


General  Grant. 


21 


North  in  general,  wished  “ that  protection  should 
be  given  to  the  right  of  property  in  slaves,  until 
some  satisfactory  way  could  be  reached  to  be 
rid  of  the  institution#’  England  took  the  North 
at  its  word,  and  regarded  its  struggle  as  one  for 
preserving  the  Union,  and  the  force  and  great- 
ness which  accrue  from  the  Union,  not  for 
abolishing  slavery!  True,  far-sighted  people 
here  might  perceive  that  the  war  must  probably 
issue,  if  the  North  prevailed,  in  the  abolition  of 
slavery,  and  might  wish  well  to  the  North  on 
that  account!  They  did  so  ; coldly,  it  is  true, 
for  the  attitude  of  the  North  was  not  such  as  to 
call  forth  enthusiasm,  but  sincerely#  A great 
number  of  people  in  England,  on  the  other  hand, 
looking  at  the  surface  of  things  merely,  clearly 
seeing  that  the  North  was  not  meaning  to  at- 
tack slavery  but  to  uphold  the  power  and  grand- 
eur of  the  United  States,  thought  themselves 
quite  free  to  wish  well  to  the  South,  the  weaker 
side  which  was  making  a gallant  fight,  and  to 
favour  the  breaking  up  of  the  Unionf 

Here  was  the  real  offence!  The  Americans 
of  the  North,  admiring  and  valuing  their  great 
Republic  above  all  things,  could  not  forgive 
disfavour  or  coldness  to  it ; could  only  im- 
pute them  to  envy  and  jealousy!  Far-sighted 
people  in  England  might  perceive  that  the  main* 


22 


General  Grant. 


tenance  of  the  Union  was  not  only  likely  to 
bring  about  the  emancipation  of  the  slave,  but 
was  also  on  other  grounds  to  be  desired  for  the 
good  of  the  world|  Our  artisans  might  be  in 
sympathy  with  the  popular  and  unaristocratic 
institutions  of  the  United  States,  and  be  there- 
fore averse  to  any  weakening  of  the  great  Re- 
public! And  these  feelings  prevailed  here,  as 
is  well  known,  so  as  to  govern  the  course  taken 
by  this  country  during  the  War  of  Secession! 
Still,  there  was  much  disfavour  and  more  cold- 
ness! Americans  were,  and  are,  indignant  that 
the  upholding  of  their  great  Republic  should 
have  had  in  England  such  cold  friends,  and  so 
many  actual  enemies!  It  is  like  the  indignant 
astonishment  of  George  Sand  during  the  Ger- 
man war,  “to  see  Europe  looking  on  with  indif- 
ference to  the  danger  of  such  a civilization  as 
that  of  France^’  But  admiration  and  favour 
are  uncompellable ; we  admire  and  favour  only 
an  object  which  delights  us,  helps  us,  elevates 
us,  and  does  us  good|  The  thing  is  to  make  us 
feel  that  the  object  does  this!  Self-admiration 
and  self-laudation  will  not  convince  us ; on  the 
contrary,  they  indispose  us|  France  would  be 
more  attractive  to  us  if  she  were  less  prone  to 
call  herself  the  head  of  civilization  and  the  pride 
of  -the  world ; the  United  States,  if  they  were 


General  Grant.  23 

v" 

more  backward  in  proclaiming  themselves  “ the 
greatest  nation  upon  earthf’ 

In  i860  Lincoln  was  elected  President,  and 
the  catastrophe,  which  Grant  hoped  might  have 
been  averted,  arrived!  He  had  in  i860  no  vote, 
but  things  were  now  come  to  that  pass  that 
he  felt  compelled  to  make  his  choice  be- 
tween minority  rule  and  rule  by  the  majority, 
and  he  was  glad,  therefore,  to  see  Lincoln 
elected!  Secession  was  imminent,  and  with 
secession,  war ; but  Grant  confesses  that  his 
own  views  at  that  time  were  those  officially  ex- 
pressed later  on  by  Mr.  Seward,  that  “ the  war 
would  be  over  in  ninety  days!”  He  retained 
these  views,  he  tells  us,  until  after  the  battle  of 
Shiloh! 

Lincoln  was  not  to  come  into  office  until  the 
spring  of  1 86 1|  The  South  was  confident  and 
defiant,  and  in  the  North  there  were  prominent 
men  and  newspapers  declaring  that  the  gov- 
ernment had  no  legal  right  to  coerce  the  South! 
It  was  unsafe  for  Mr.  Lincoln,  when  he  went  to 
be  sworn  into  office  in  March  1861,  to  travel  as 
President-elect ; he  had  to  be  smuggled  into 
Washington!  When  he  took  on  the  4th  of 
March  his  oath  of  office  to  maintain  the  Union, 
eleven  States  had  gone  out  of  it$  On  the  nth 
of  April,  Fort  Sumter  in  Charleston  harbour 


24 


General  Grant. 


was  fired  upon,  and  a few  days  after  was  capturedl 
Then  the  President  issued  a call  for  75,000  men. 
“ There  was  not  a State  in  the  North  of  a mil- 
lion inhabitants,”  says  Grant,  “that  would  not 
have  furnished  the  entire  number  faster  than 
arms  could  have  been  supplied  to  them,  if  it 
had  been  necessary!” 

As  soon  as  news  of  the  call  for  volunteers 
reached  Galena,  where  Grant  lived,  the  citizens 
were  summoned  to  meet  at  the  Court  House  in 
the  eveningl  The  Court  House  was  crammed. 
Grant,  though  a comparative  stranger,  was  called 
upon  to  preside,  because  he  had  been  in  the 
army,  and  had  seen  servicel  “ With  much  em- 
barrassment and  some  prompting,  I made  out 
to  announce  the  object  of  the  meeting!” 
Speeches  followed  ; then  volunteers  were  called 
for  to  form  the  company  which  Galena  had 
to  furnish|  The  company  was  raised,  and  the 
officers  and  non-commissioned  officers  were 
elected,  before  the  meeting  adjourned|  Grant 
declined  the  captaincy  before  the  balloting,  but 
promised  to  help  them  all  he  could,  and  to  be 
found  in  the  service,  in  some  position,  if  there 
should  actually  be  war|  “ I never,”  he  adds, 
“went  into  our  leather  store  after  that  meeting, 
to  put  up  a package  or  do  other  business!” 

After  seeing  the  company  mustered  at  Spring- 


General  Grant. 


field,  the  capital  of  Illinois,  Grant  was  asked  b 
the  Governor  of  the  State  to  give  some  help  in 
the  military  office,  where  his  old  army  experi- 
ence enabled  him  to  be  of  great  use|  But  on 
the  24th  of  May  he  wrote  to  the  Adjutant-Gen- 
eral of  the  Army,  saying  that,  “ having  been 
fifteen  years  in  the  regular  army,  including  four 
at  West  Point,  and  feeling  it  the  duty  of  every 
one  who  has  been  educated  at  the  Government 
expense  to  offer  their  services  for  the  support 
of  the  Government,”  he  wished  to  tender  his 
services  until  the  close  of  the  war,  “in  such 
capacity  as  may  be  offered.|  He  got  no  answer| 
He  then  thought  of  getting  appointed  on  the 
staff  of  General  McClellan,  whom  he  had  known 
at  West  Point,  and  went  to  seek  the  General  at 
Cincinnati!  Pie  called  twice,  but  failed  to  see 
himf  While  he  was  at  Cincinnati,  however,  the 
President  issued  his  second  call  for  troops,  this 
time  for  300,000  men ; and  the  Governor  of 
Illinois,  mindful  of  Grant’s  recent  help,  ap- 
pointed him  colonel  of  the  21st  Illinois  regi- 
ment of  infantry|  In  a month  he  had  brought 
his  regiment  into  a good  state  of  drill  and  dis- 
cipline, and  was  then  ordered  to  a point  on  a 
railroad  in  Missouri,  where  an  Illinois  regiment 
was  surrounded  by  “rebels|”  His  own  account 
of  his  first  experience  as  a Commander  is  very 
characteristic  of  him  f 


6 


General  Grant. 


“My  sensations  as  we  approached  what  I sup- 
posed might  be  a ‘field  of  battle,’  were  anything 
but  agreeablel  I had  been  in  all  the  engage- 
ments in  Mexico  that  it  was  possible  for  one 
person  to  be  in  ; but  not  in  command!  If  some 
one  else  had  been  colonel,  and  I had  been  lieu- 
tenant-colonel,  I do  not  think  I would  have  felt 
any  trepidation!  Before  we  were  prepared  to 
cross  the  Mississippi  River  at  Quincy,  my  anx- 
iety was  relieved ; for  the  men  of  the  besieged 
regiment  came  straggling  into  the  town|  I am 
inclined  to  think  both  sides  got  frightened  and 
ran  away|” 

Now,  however,  he  was  started  ; and  from  this 
time  until  he  received  Lee’s  surrender  at  Appo- 
mattox Court  House,  four  years  later,  he  was 
always  the  same  strong  man,  showing  the  same 
valuable  qualities!  He  had  not  the  pathos  and 
dignity  of  Lee,  his  power  of  captivating  the 
admiring  interest,  almost  the  admiring  affec- 
tion, of  his  profession  and  of  the  world|  He 
had  not  the  fire,  the  celerity,  the  genial  cordial- 
ity of  Sherman,  whose  person  and  manner  emit- 
ted a ray  (to  adopt,  with  a very  slight  change, 
Lamb’s  well-known  lines)  — 

“ a ray 

Which  struck  a cheer  upon  the  day, 

A cheer  which  would  not  go  away  — ” 


General  Grant. 


27 


Grant  had  not  thesej^  But  he  certainly  had  a 
good  deal  of  the  character  and  qualities  which 
we  so  justly  respect  in  the  Duke  of  Wellington! 
Wholly  free  from  show,  parade,  and  pomposity  ; 
sensible  and  sagacious ; scanning  closely  the 
situation,  seeing  things  as  they  actually  were, 
then  making  up  his  mind  as  to  the  right  thing 
to  be  done  under  the  circumstances,  and  doing 
it ; never  flurried,  never  vacillating,  but  also  not 
stubborn,  able  to  reconsider  and  change  his 
plans,  a man  of  resource ; when,  however,  he 
had  really  fixed  on  the  best  course  to  take,  the 
right  nail  to  drive,  resolutely  and  tenaciously 
persevering,  driving  the  nail  hard  home  — Grant 
was  all  this,  and  surely  in  all  this  he  resembles 
the  Duke  of  Wellington^ 

The  eyes  of  Europe,  during  the  War  of  Seces- 
sion, were  chiefly  fixed  on  the  conflict  in  the 
Eastf  Grant,  however,  as  we  have  seen,  began 
his  career,  not  on  the  great  and  conspicuous 
stage  of  the  East,  but  in  the  West|  He  did 
not  come  to  the  East  until,  by  taking  Vicks- 
burg, he  had  attracted  all  eyes  to  the  West,  and 
to  the  course  of  events  there| 

We  have  seen  how  Grant’s  first  expedition  in 
command  endedf  The  second  ended  in  much 
the  same  way,  and  is  related  by  him  with  the 
same  humourf  He  was  ordered  to  move  against 


28 


General  Grant. 


a Colonel  Thomas  Harris,  encamped  on  the  Salt 
River|  As  Grant  and  his  men  approached  the 
place  where  they  expected  to  find  Harris,  “my 
heart,”  he  says,  “ kept  getting  higher  and  higher, 
until  it  felt  to  me  as  if  it  was  in  my  throat|” 
But  when  they  reached  the  point  from  which 
they  looked  down  into  the  valley  where  they 
supposed  Harris  to  be,  behold,  Harris  was  gone| 
“ My  heart  resumed  its  place)  It  occurred  to 
me  at  once  that  Harris  had  been  as  much  afraid 
of  me  as  I had  been  of  him|  This  was  a view 
of  the  question  I had  never  taken  before,  but  I 
never  forgot  it  afterwards)  I never  forgot  that 
an  enemy  had  as  much  reason  to  fear  my  forces 
as  I had  his|  The  lesson  was  valuable)” 

But  already  he  inspired  confidence!  Shortly 
after  his  return  from  the  Salt  River,  the  Presi- 
dent asked  the  Congressmen  from  Illinois  to 
recommend  seven  citizens  of  that  State  for  the 
rank  of  brigadier-general,  and  the  Congressmen 
unanimously  recommended  Grant  first  on  the 
listj  In  August  he  was  appointed  to  the  com- 
mand of  a district,  and  on  the  4th  of  Septem- 
ber assumed  command  at  Cairo,  where  the  Ohio 
River  joins  the  Mississippi)  His  first  important 
success  was  to  seize  and  fortify  Paducah,  an 
important  post  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tennessee 
River,  about  fifty  miles  from  Cairo!  By  the  1st 


General  G rat  it. 


29 


of  November  he  had  20,000  well-drilled  men 
under  his  commandl  In  November  he  fought  a 
smart  action  at  Belmont,  on  the  western  bank 
of  the  Mississippi,  with  the  object  of  prevent- 
ing the  Confederates  who  were  in  strong  force 
at  Columbus  in  Kentucky,  on  the  eastern  bank, 
from  detaching  troops  to  the  West|  He  suc- 
ceeded in  his  object,  and  his  troops,  who  came 
under  fire  for  the  first  time,  behaved  well.. 
Grant  himself  had  a horse  shot  under  him| 
Very  important  posts  to  the  Confederates 
were  Fort  Henry  on  the  Tennessee  and  Fort 
Donelson  on  the  Cumberland  RiverJ  Grant 
thought  he  could  capture  Fort  Henryk  He 
went  to  St.  Louis  to  see  General  Halleck, 
whose  subordinate  he  was,  and  to  state  his 
plan!  “ I was  received  with  so  little  cordial- 
ity that  I perhaps  stated  the  object  of  my  visit 
with  less  clearness  than  I might  have  done,  and 
I had  not  uttered  many  sentences  before  I was 
cut  short  as  if  my  plan  was  preposterous!  I 
returned  to  Cairo  very  much  crest-fallen^’ 

He  persevered,  however,  and  after  consulting 
with  the  officer  commanding  the  gunboats  at 
Cairo,  he  renewed,  by  telegraph,  the  suggestion 
that,  if  permitted,  he  “ could  take  and  hold 
Fort  Henry  on  the  Tennessee^’  This  time  he 
was  backed  by  the  officer  in  command  of  the 


30 


General  Grant. 


gunboats|  Next  day,  he  wrote  fully  to  explain 
his  plan.  In  two  days  he  received  instructions 
from  headquarters  to  move  upon  Fort  Henry, 
and  on  the  2nd  of  February,  1862,  the  expedi- 
tion started! 

He  took  Fort  Henry  on  the  6th  of  February, 
and  announcing  his  success  to  General  Halleck, 
informed  him  that  he  would  now  take  Fort  Don- 
elsonj  On  the  16th,  Fort  Donelson  surrendered, 
and  Grant  made  nearly  1 5,000  prisonersl  There 
was  delight  in  the  North,  depression  at  Rich- 
mond! Grant  was  at  once  promoted  to  be 
major-general  of  volunteers j He  thought,  both 
then  and  ever  after,  that  by  the  fall  of  Fort 
Donelson  the  way  was  opened  to  the  forces  of 
the  North  all  over  the  south-west  without 
much  resistance,  that  a vigorous  commander, 
disposing  of  all  the  troops  west  of  the  Alle- 
ghanies,  might  have  at  once  marched  to  Chat- 
tanooga, Corinth,  Memphis,  and  Vicksburg,  and 
broken  down  every  resistance^  There  was  no 
such  commander,  and  time  was  given  to  the 
enemy  to  collect  armies  and  fortify  new  posi- 
tions! 

The  next  point  for  attack  was  Corinth,  at  the 
junction  of  the  two  most  important  railroads  in 
the  Mississippi  Valley^  After  Grant  had,  after 
a hard  and  bloody  struggle  of  two  days,  won 


General  Grant. 


31 


the  battle  of  Shiloah,  in  which  a ball  cut  in 
two  the  scabbard  of  his  sword,  and  more  than 
10,000  men  were  killed  and  wounded  on  the 
side  of  the  North,  General  Halleck,  who  did 
not  love  Grant,  arrived  on  the  scene  of  action 
and  assumed  the  command!  “ Although  next 
to  him  in  rank,”  says  Grant,  “and  nominally  in 
command  of  my  old  district  and  army,  I was 
ignored  as  much  as  if  I had  been  at  the  most 
distant  point  of  territory  within  my  jurisdic- 
tion!” On  the  advance  to  Corinth,  “I  was  little 
more  than  an  observer!  Orders  were  sent  direct 
to  the  right  wing  or  reserve,  ignoring  me,  and 
advances  were  made  from  one  line  of  intrench- 
ments  to  another  without  notifying  me|  My 
position  was  so  embarrassing,  in  fact,  that  I 
made  several  applications  to  be  relieved#  When 
he  suggested  a movement,  he  was  silenced^ 
Presently  the  Confederate  troops  evacuated 
Corinth  in  safety,  carrying  with  them  all  pub- 
lic property!  On  the  side  of  the  North,  there 
was  much  disappointment  at  the  slackness  with 
which  the  enemy  had  been  pressed,  and  at  his 
success  in  saving  his  entire  army! 

But  Corinth  was  evacuated ; the  naval  forces 
of  the  North  took  Memphis,  and  now  held 
the  Mississippi  River  from  its  source  to  that 
point ; New  Orleans  and  Baton  Rouge  had 


32 


General  Grant. 


fallen  into  their  possession!  The  Confederates 
at  the  West  were  now  narrowed  down,  for  als 
communication  with  Richmond,  to  the  single 
line  of  road  running  east  from  Vicksburg!  To 
dispossess  them  of  Vicksburg,  therefore,  was  of 
the  highest  importance^  At  this  point  I must 
stop  for  the  present|  Public  attention  was  not 
yet  fixed  upon  Grant,  as  it  became  after  his  suc- 
cess at  Vicksburg ; and  with  his  success  there 
a second  chapter  of  his  life  opens|  But  already 
he  had  shown  his  talent  for  succeeding!  Car- 
dinal Mazarin  used  to  ask  concerning  a man 
before  employing  him,  Est-il  heureux  ? Grant 
was  heureux\ 


Part  II. 


We  left  Grant  projecting  his  attack  upon 
Vicksburg|  In  the  autumn  of  1862,  the  second 
year  of  the  war,  the  prospect  for  the  North  ap- 
peared gloomyl  The  Confederates  were  further 
advanced  than  at  the  beginning  of  the  struggle^ 
Many  loyal  people,  says  Grant,  despaired  at 
that  time  of  ever  saving  the  Union  ; President 
Lincoln  never  himself  lost  faith  in  the  final  tri- 
umph of  the  Northern  cause,  but  the  adminis- 
tration at  Washington  was  uneasy  and  anxious| 
The  elections  of  1862  had  gone  against  the 
party  which  was  for  prosecuting  the  war  at  all 
costs  and  at  all  risks  until  the  Union  was  savedf 
Voluntary  enlistments  had  ceased  ; to  fill  the 
ranks  of  the  Northern  armies  the  draft  had  been 
resorted  tojj  Unless  a great  success  came  to 
restore  the  spirit  of  the  North,  it  seemed  pro- 
bable that  the  draft  would  be  resisted,  that  men 
would  begin  to  desert,  and  that  the  power  to 
capture  and  punish  deserters  would  be  lost*  It 
was  Grant’s  conviction  that  there  was  nothing 
left  to  be  done  but  “to  go  forward  to  a decisive 
victory 


34 


Genera t Grant. 


At  first, AO wever,  after  the  battle  of  Shiloh 
and  the  taking  of  Corinth,  he  could  accomplish 
littlej  General  Halleck,  his  chief,  appears  to 
have  been  at  this  time  ill-disposed  to  him,  and 
to  have  treated  him  with  coldness  and  incivility! 
In  July  1862,  General  Halleck  was  appointed 
general-in-chief  of  all  the  armies  of  the  North, 
with  his  headquarters  in  Washington,  and  Grant 
remained  in  Tennessee  in  chief  command|  But 
his  army  suffered  such  depletion  by  detaching 
men  to  defend  long  lines  of  communication,  to 
repair  ruined  railroads,  to  reinforce  generals  in 
need  of  succour,  that  he  found  himself  entirely 
on  the  defensive  in  a hostile  territory!  Never- 
theless in  a battle  fought  to  protect  Corinth  he 
repulsed  the  enemy  with  great  slaughter,  and 
being  no  longer  anxious  for  the  safety  of  the 
territory  within  his  command,  and  having  been 
reinforced,  he  resolved  on  a forward  movement 
against  Vicksburg| 

Vicksburg  occupies  the  first  high  ground  on 
the  Mississippi-  below  Memphis!  Communica- 
tion between  the  parts  of  the  Confederacy  divid- 
ed by  the  Mississippi  was  through  Vicksburg, 
So  long  as  the  Confederates  held  Vicksburg- 
and  Port  Hudson  lower  down,  the  free  naviga- 
tion of  the  river  was  prevented^  The  fall  of 
Vicksburg,  as  the  event  proved,  was  sure  to 


General  Grant. 


35 


bring  with  it  the  fall  of  Port  Hudson  also| 
Grant  saw  nearly  his  whole  force  absorbed  in 
holding  the  railway  lines  north  of  Vicksburg ; 
he  considered  that  if  he  moved  forward,  driving 
the  enemy  before  him  into  Southern  territory 
not  as  yet  subdued,  those  lines  in  his  rear  would 
almost  hold  themselves,  and  most  of  his  force 
would  be  free  for  field  operations!  But  in  mov- 
ing forward  he  moved  further  from  his  bases  of 
supplies|  One  of  these  was  at  Holly  Springs, 
in  the  north  of  the  state  of  Mississippi ; the 
enemy  appeared  there,  captured  the  garrison, 
and  destroyed  all  the  stores  of  food,  forage,  and 
munitions  of  war|  This  loss  taught  Grant  a 
lesson  by  which  he,  and  Sherman  after  him, 
profited  greatly : the  lesson  that  in  a wide  and 
productive  country,  such  as  that  in  which  he 
was  operating,  to  cling  to  a distant  base  of 
supply  was  not  necessary ; the  country  he  was 
in  would  afford  the  supplies  needed^  He  was 
amazed,  he  says,  when  he  was  compelled  by  the 
loss  of  Holly  Springs  to  collect  supplies  in  the 
country  immediately  around  him,  at  the  abundant 
quantity  which  the  country  affordedj  He  found 
that  after  leaving  two  months’  supplies  for  the 
use  of  the  families  whose  stores  were  taken,  he 
could,  off  the  region  where  he  was,  have  sub- 
sisted his  army  for  a period  four  times  as  long 


36 


General  Grant. 


as  he  had  actually  to  remain  there|  Later  in 
the  campaign  he  took  full  advantage  of  the  ex- 
perience thus  gained^ 

The  fleet  under  Admiral  Porter  co-operated 
with  him,  but  all  endeavours  to  capture  Vicks- 
burg from  the  north  were  unavailing!  The 
Mississippi  winds  and  winds  through  its  rich 
alluvial  valley ; the  country  is  intersected  by 
bayous  or  water-courses  filled  from  the  river, 
with  overhanging  trees  and  with  narrow  and 
tortuous  channels,  where  the  bends  could  not 
be  turned  by  a vessel  of  any  lengthl  To  cross 
this  country  in  the  face  of  an  enemy  was  impos- 
sible! The  problem  was  to  get  in  rear  of  the 
object  of  attack,  and  to  secure  a footing  upon 
dry  ground  on  the  high  or  eastern  side  of  the 
Mississippi — the  side  on  which  Vicksburg 
stands — for  operating  against  the  placel  On 
the  30th  of  January,  1863,  Grant  having  left 
Memphis,  took  the  command  at  Young’s  Point 
in  Louisiana,  on  the  western  bank  of  Mississippi, 
not  far  above  Vicksburg,  bent  on  solving  the 
problemf 

It  was  a wet  country  and  a wet  winter,  with 
high  water  in  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries^ 
The  troops  encamped  on  the  river  bank  had,  in 
order  to  be  out  of  the  water,  to  occupy  the 
levees,  or  dykes,  along  the  river  edge,  and  the 


Ge?ieral  Grant. 


37 


ground  immediately  behind|  This  gave  so  limited 
a space,  that  one  corps  of  Grant’s  army,  when 
he  assumed  the  command  at  Young’s  Point) 
was  at  Lake  Providence,  seventy  miles  above 
Vicksburg!  The  troops  suffered  much  from 
malarial  fevers  and  other  sickness,  but  the 
hospital  arrangements  were  excellentl 

Four  ineffectual  attempts  were  in  the  course 
of  the  winter  made  to  get  at  the  object  of  attack 
by  various  routesj  Grant,  meanwhile,  was 
maturing  his  planj  His  plan  was  to  traverse 
the  peninsula  where  he  lay  encamped,  then  to 
cross  the  Mississippi,  and  thus  to  be  able  to 
attack  Vicksburg  from  the  south  and  east| 
Above  Young’s  Point,  at  Milliken’s  Bend,  be- 
gins a series  of  bayous,  forming,  as  it  were,  the 
chord  of  an  immense  bend  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  falling  into  the  river  some  fifty  miles  below 
Vicksburg!  Behind  the  levees  bordering  these 
bayous  were  tolerable  roads,  by  which,  as  soon 
as  they  emerged  from  the  waters,  Grant’s  troops 
and  waggon-trains  could  cross  the  peninsula| 
The  difficulties  were  indeed  great  : four  bridges 
had  to  be  built  across  wide  bayous,  and  the  rapid 
fall  of  the  waters  increased  the  current,  and 
made  bridge-building  troublesome  ; but  at  work 
of  this  kind  the  “Yankee  soldier”  is  in  his  ele- 
mentji  By  the  24th  of  April  Grant  had  his 


38 


General  Grant. 


headquarters  at  the  southern  extremity  of  the 
bend|  The  navy  under  Admiral  Porter,  escort- 
ing steamers  and  barges  to  serve  as  ferries  and 
for  the  transport  of  supplies,  had  run  fourteen 
miles  of  batteries,  passed  Vicksburg,  and  come 
down  the  river  to  join  Grant|  A further  march 
of  twenty-two  miles  was  still  necessary  in  order 
to  reach  the  first  high  ground,  where  the  army 
might  land  and  establish  itself  on  the  eastern 
shorel  This  first  high  land  is  at  Grand  Gulf,  a 
place  strongly  held  at  that  time  by  the  Con- 
federates, and  as  unattackable  from  the  river  as 
Vicksburg  itself^  Porter  ran  the  batteries  of 
Grand  Gulf  as  he  had  run  those  of  Vicksburg  5 
the  army  descended  the  river  a few  miles,  and  on 
the  30th  of  April  was  landed  at  Bruinsburg,  on 
the  eastern  shore,  without  meeting  an  enemyl 

Grant’s  plan  had  succeeded!  He  was  estab- 
lished on  the  eastern  bank,  below  and  in  rear 
of  Vicksburgl  Though  Vicksburg  was  not  yet 
taken,  and  though  he  was  in  the  enemy’s 
country,  with  a vast  river  and  the  stronghold  of 
Vicksburg  between  him  and  his  base  of  supplies, 
yet  he  “ felt  a degree  of  relief  scarcely  ever 
equalled,  since  I was  on  dry  ground  on  the  same 
side  of  the  river  with  the  enemy!” 

And  indeed  from  this  moment  his  success 
was  continuous!  The  enemy  had  at  Grand 


General  Grant. 


39 


Gulf,  at  Haines  Bluff  north  of  Vicksburg,  and 
at  Jackson,  the  capital  of  the  State  of  Missis- 
sippi, in  which  State  all  these  places  are,  about 
60,000  men|  After  fighting  and  losing  an 
action  to  cover  Grand  Gulf,  the  Confederates 
evacuated  that  place,  and  Grant  occupied  it  on 
the  3rd  of  May.  By  the  7th  of  May  Sherman 
joined  him  at  Grand  Gulf,  and  he  found  him- 
self with  a force  of  33,000  men|  He  then 
determined  at  once  to  attack  the  enemy’s 
forces  in  the  rear  of  Vicksburg,  and  then  to 
move  on  the  stronghold  itself|  In  order  to  use 
Grand  Gulf  as  his  base  of  supplies  for  these 
operations,  he  must  have  constructed  addi- 
tional roads,  and  this  would  have  been  a work 
of  time!  He  determined  therefore  merely  to 
bring  up  by  the  single  road  available  from 
Grand  Gulf,  what  rations  of  biscuit,  coffee, 
and  salt  he  could,  and  to  make  the  country  he 
traversed  furnish  everything  elsel  Beef,  mut- 
ton, poultry,  molasses,  and  forage  were  to  be 
found,  he  knew,  in  abundance!  The  cautious 
Halleck  would  be  sure  to  disapprove  this  bold 
plan  of  almost  abandoning  the  base  of  sup- 
plies, but  Grant  counted  on  being  able  to  ob- 
tain his  object  before  he  could  be  interfered 
with  from  Washington! 

The  nature  of  the  ground  making  Vicksburg 


40 


General  Grant. 


easily  defensible  on  the  south,  Grant  deter- 
mined to  get  on  the  railroad  running  east  from 
Vicksburg  to  Jackson,  the  State  capital,  and  to 
approach  the  stronghold  from  that  sidel  At 
Jackson  was  a strong  Confederate  force,  the 
city  was  an  important  railway  centre,  and  all 
supplies  of  men  and  stores  for  Vicksburg  came 
thence ; this  source  of  aid  had  to  be  stopped! 
But  in  order  to  reach  Jackson,  Grant  had  to 
abandon  even  that  one  road  by  which  he  had 
partially  supplied  his  army  hitherto,  to  cut 
loose  from  his  base  of  supplies  altogether!  He 
did  so  without  hesitationj  After  a successful 
action  he  entered  Jackson  on  the  14th  of  May, 
driving  out  of  it  the  Confederates  under  Gen- 
eral Johnston,  and  destroyed  the  place  in  so 
far  as  it  was  a railroad  centre  and  a manufac- 
tory of  military  supplies!  Then  he  turned 
westward,  and  after  a severe  battle  shut  up 
Pemberton  in  Vicksburgj  An  assault  on  Pem- 
berton’s defences  was  unsuccessful,  but  Vicks- 
burg was  closely  invested!  Pemberton’s  stores 
began  to  run  short.  Johnston  was  unable  to 
come  to  his  relief,  and  on  the  4th  of  July,  Inde- 
pendence Day,  he  surrendered  Vicksburg, 
with  its  garrison  of  nearly  thirty-two  thousand 
men,  ordnance  and  storesj  As  Grant  had  fore- 
seen, Port  Hudson  surrendered  as  soon  as  the 


General  Gra?it. 


Al 


fall  of  Vicksburg  became  known,  and  the  great 
river  was  once  more  open  from  St.  Louis  to  the 
sea.  4/ 

In  the  north  the  victory  of  Gettysburg  was 
won  on  the  same  day  on  which  Vicksburg  sur- 
renderecfc  A load  of  anxiety  was  lifted  from 
the  minds  of  the  President  and  his  ministers ; 
the  North  took  heart  again,  and  resolved  to  con- 
tinue the  war  with  energy,  in  the  hope  of  soon 
bringing  it  to  a triumphant  issue|  The  great 
and  decisive  event  bringing  about  this  change 
was  the  fall  of  Vicksburg,  and  the  merit  of  that 
important  success  was  due  to  Grantf 

He  had  been  successful,  and  in  his  success 
he  still  retained  his  freedom  from  “bounce” 
and  from  personal  vanity ; his  steadfast  concern 
for  the  public  good ; his  moderation!  Let  us 
hear  his  account  of  being  under  fire  during  a 
fruitless  attack  by  Admiral  Porter’s  gunboats 
on  the  batteries  of  Grand  Gulf  | 

“ I occupied  a tug,  from  which  I could  see  the 
effect  of  the  battle  on  both  sides,  within  range 
of  the  enemy’s  guns  ; but  a small  tug , without 
armament,  was  not  calculated  to  attract  the  fire 
of  batteries  while  they  were  being  assailed  them- 
selves 

He  has  to  mention  a risk  incurred  by  himself; 
but  mentioning  it,  he  is  at  pains  to  minimise  it| 


42 


General  Grant. 


When  he  assumed  command  in  person  at 
Young’s  Point,  General  McClernand,  from 
whom  the  command  now  passed  to  Grant,  his 
senior  and  superior,  showed  temper  and  remon- 
strated J 

“His  correspondence  with  me  on  the  subject 
was  more  in  the  nature  of  a reprimand  than  a 
protest!  It  was  highly  insubordinate,  but  f 
overlooked  it,  as  I believed,  for  the  good  of  the 
service f General  McClernand  was  a member 
of  Congress  when  the  Secession  War  broke 
out ; he  belonged  to  that  party  which  furnished 
all  the  opposition  there  was  to  a vigorous  prose- 
cution of  the  war  for  saving  the  Union  ; but 
there  was  no  delay  in  his  declaring  himself  for 
the  Union  at  all  hazards,  and  there  was  no  un- 
certain sound  in  his  declaration  of  where  he 
stood  in  the  contest  before  the  country!’ 

To  such  a man  Grant  wished  to  be  forbear- 
ing when  he  could  say  to  himself  that,  after  all, 
it  was  only  his  own  dignity  which  was  con- 
cerned/ But  later,  when  an  irregularity  of  the 
same  General  was  injurious  to  good  feeling  and 
unity  in  the  army,  Grant  was  prompt  and 
severe | 

“ 1 received  a letter  from  General  Sherman, 
and  one  from  General  MePherson,  saying  that 
their  respective  commands  had  complained  to 


General  Grant. 


43 


them  of  a fulsome  congratulatory  order  pub- 
lished by  General  McClernand  to  the  13th 
Corps,  which  did  great  injustice  to  the  other 
troops  engaged  in  the  campaign!  This  order 
had  been  sent  north  and  published,  and  now 
papers  containing  it  had  reached  our  camps| 
The  order  had  not  been  heard  of  by  me ; I at 
once  wrote  to  McClernand,  directing  him  to 
send  me  a copy  of  this  order\  He  did  so,  and  I 
at  once  relieved  him  from  the  command  of  the 
13th  Army  Corps!  The  publication  of  his  order 
in  the  press  was  in  violation  of  War  Department 
orders,  and  also  of  mine!” 

The  newspaper  press  is  apt  to  appear  to  an 
American,  even  more  than  to  an  Englishman, 
as  part  of  the  order  of  nature,  and  contending 
with  it  seems  like  contending  with  destiny. 
Grant  had  governing  instincts|  “ I always  ad- 
mired the  South,  as  bad  as  I thought  their 
cause,  for  the  boldness  with  which  they  silenced 
all  opposition  and  all  croaking  by  press  or  by 
individuals  within  their  control.!’  His  instincts 
would  have  led  him  to  follow  this  example! 
But  since  he  could  do  nothing  against  the  news- 
paper nuisance,  and  was  himself  the  chief  suf- 
ferer by  it,  he  bore  it  with  his  native  phil- 
osophy | 

“Visitors  to  the  camps  went  home  with  dismal 


44 


General  Grant. 


stories!  Northern  papers  came  back  to  the  sol- 
diers with  these  stories  exaggerated!  Because 
I would  not  divulge  my  ultimate  plans  to  visi- 
tors they  pronounced  me  idle,  incompetent,  and 
unfit  to  command  men  in  an  emergency,  and 
clamoured  for  my  removall  They  were  not 
to  be  satisfied,  many  of  them,  with  my  simple 
removal,  but  named  who  my  successor  should 
bef  I took  no  steps  to  answer  these  complaints, 
but  continued  to  do  my  duty,  as  I understood 
it,  to  the  best  of  my  ability!” 

Surely  the  Duke  of  Wellington  would  have 
read  these  Memoirs  with  pleasurel  He  might 
himself  have  issued,  too,  this  order  respecting 
behaviour  to  prisoners : Instruct  the  com- 
mands to  be  quiet  and  orderly  as  these  prisoners 
pass,  and  to  make  no  offensive  remark!”  And 
this  other,  respecting  behaviour  in  a conquored 
enemy’s  country : “ Impress  upon  the  men  the 
importance  of  going  through  the  State  in  an 
orderly  manner,  abstaining  from  taking  any- 
thing not  absolutely  necessary  for  their  sub- 
sistence while  travelling!  They  should  try  to 
create  as  favourable  an  impression  as  possible 
upon  the  peoplej” 

But  what  even  at  this  stage  of  the  war  is  very 
striking,  and  of  good  augury  for  the  re-union 
which  followed,  is  the  absence,  in  general,  of 


General  Grant. 


45 


bitter  hatred  between  the  combatants|  There 
is  nothing  of  internicene,  inextinguishable,  irre- 
concilable enmity,  or  of  the  temper,  acts,  and 
words  which  beget  this.|  Often  we  find  the 
vanquished  Southerner  showing  a good-hum- 
oured audacity,  the  victorious  Northerner  a 
good-humoured  forbearance!  Let  us  remember 
Carrier  at  Nantes,  or  Davoust  at  Hamburg,  and 
then  look  at  Grant’s  picture  of  himself  and 
Sherman  at  Jackson,  when  their  troops  had  just 
driven  the  enemy  out  of  this  capital  of  a 
“ rebel  ” State,  and  were  destroying  the  stores 
and  war-materials  there  I 

“ Sherman  and  I went  together  into  a manu- 
factory which  had  not  ceased  work  on  account 
of  the  battle,  nor  for  the  entrance  of  Yankee 
troops!  Our  entrance  did  not  seem  to  attract 
the  attention  of  either  the  manager  or  the  ope- 
ratives, most  of  whom  were  girlsf  We  looked 
on  for  a while  to  see  the  tent  cloth  which  they 
were  making  roll  out  of  the  looms,  with“C.S. 
A.”*  woven  in  each  bolt!  Finally  I told  Sher- 
man I thought  they  had  done  work  enoughl 
The  operatives  were  told  they  could  leave,  and 
take  with  them  what  cloth  they  could  carry!  In 
a few  minutes  the  factory  was  in  a blazel  The 
proprietor  visited  Washington,  while  I was  Presi- 
* Confederate  States  Army. 


46 


General  Grant. 


dent,  to  get  his  pay  for  this  property,  claiming 
that  it  was  private!’ 

The  American  girls  coolly  continuing  to  make 
the  Confederate  tents  under  the  eye  of  the  hos- 
, tile  generals,  and  the  proprietor  claiming  after- 
wards to  be  paid  by  Congress  for  them  as  private 
property,  are  charming| 

It  was  one  of  Grant’s  superstitions,  he  tells 
us,  never  to  apply  for  a post,  or  to  use  personal 
or  political  influence  for  obtaining  it|  He  be- 
lieved that  if  he  had  got  it  in  this  way  he  would 
have  feared  to  undertake  any  plan  of  his  own 
conception  for  fear  of  involving  his  patrons  in 
responsibility  for  his  possible  failure|  If  he 
were  selected  for  a post,  his  responsibility  ended, 
he  said,  with  “his  doing  the  best  he  knew  how^ 

“ Every  one  has  his  superstitions|  One  of 
mine  is  that  in  positions  of  great  responsibility 
every  one  should  do  his  duty  to  the  best  of  his 
ability,  where  assigned  by  competent  authority, 
without  application  or  the  use  of  influence  to 
change  his  position!  While  at  Cairo  I had 
watched  with  very  great  interest  the  operations 
of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  looking  upon  that 
as  the  main  field  of  the  war|  I had  no  idea,  my- 
self, of  ever  having  any  large  command,  nor  did  I 
suppose  that  I was  equal  to  one  ; but  I had  the 
vanity  to  think  that,  as  a cavalry  officer,  I might 


General  Grant. 


47 


succeed  very  well  in  the  command  of  a brigade| 
On  one  occasion,  in  talking  about  this  to  my 
staff  officers,  I said  that  I would  give  anything 
if  I were  commanding  a brigade  of  cavalry  in 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  I believed  I could 
do  some  goodf  Captain  Hellyer  suggested  that 
I should  make  application  to  be  transferred 
there  to  command  the  cavalry!  I then  told  him 
that  I would  cut  my  right  arm  off  first,  and 
mentioned  this  superstition!” 

But  now  he  was  to  be  transferred,  without  any 
solicitation  on  his  own  part,  to  “the  main  field 
of  the  war|’  At  first,  however,  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  command  of  the  “ Military  Divis- 
ion of  the  Mississippi,”  and  after  fighting  a severe 
and  successful  battle  at  Chattanooga  in  Novem- 
ber (1863),  relieved  that  place  and  Knoxville, 
which  the  Confederates  were  threatening! 
President  Lincoln,  who  had  daily,  almost  hourly, 
been  telegraphing  to  him  to  “remember  Burn- 
side,” to  “do  something  for  Burnside,”  be- 
sieged in  Knoxville,  was  overjoyedl  “I  wish,” 
he  wrote  to  Grant,  “to  tender  you,  and  all  under 
your  command,  my  more  than  thanks,  my  pro- 
foundest  gratitude,  for  the  skill,  courage  and 
perseverance  with  which  you  and  they,  over  so 
great  difficulties,  have  effected  this  important 
object|  God  bless  you  all  | ” Congress  voted 


48 


General  Grant. 


him  thanks  and  a gold  medal  for  his  achieve- 
ments at  Vicksburg  and  Chattanooga! 

In  the  dead  of  the  winter,  with  the  ther- 
mometer below  zero,  he  made  an  excursion  into 
Kentucky,  and  had  the  pleasure  of  finding  the 
people  along  his  route,  both  in  Tennessee  and 
Kentucky,  in  general  intensely  loyal  to  the 
Union  ^ 

“They  would  collect  in  little  places  where  we 
would  stop  of  evenings,  to  see  me|  The  people 
naturally  expected  to  see  the  commanding  gen- 
eral the  oldest  person  in  the  party!  I was  then 
forty-one  years  of  age,  while  my  medical  director 
was  grey-haired,  and  probably  twelve  or  more 
years  my  senior|  The  crowds  would  generally 
swarm  around  him,  and  thus  give  me  an  oppor- 
tunity of  quietly  dismounting  and  getting  into 
the  house! ’ 

At  the  beginning  of  the  next  year,  1864,  a 
Bill  was  passed  through  Congress  for  restoring 
the  grade  of  Lieutenant-General  in  the  army| 
Grant  was  nominated  to  that  rank,  and  having 
been  summoned  to  Washington  he  received  his 
commission  from  the  President  on  the  9th  of 
March,  in  the  presence  of  the  Ministers|  Before 
he  came  to  Washington,  he  had  meant  to  return 
to  his  command  in  the  West  even  after  being 
made  lieutenant-general ; but  at  Washington  he 


General  Grant. 


49 


saw  reason  to  change  his  mindj  The  important 
struggle  was  now  between  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  and  Lee|  From  what  he  saw,  Grant 
was  convinced  that  in  that  struggle  no  one  ex- 
cept himself,  with  the  superior  rank  he  now 
bore,  could,  probably,  “resist  the  pressure  that 
would  be  brought  to  bear  upon  him  to  desist 
from  his  own  plans  and  pursue  othersf’  He 
obtained,  therefore,  the  nomination  of  Sherman 
to  succeed  him  in  command  of  the  Military 
Division  of  the  Mississippi!  On  the  12th  of 
March  orders  were  published  by  the  War  De- 
partment, placing  Grant  in  chief  command  of 
all  the  armies| 

The  position  of  General  Meade,  who  was  at 
that  time  in  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Poto- 
mac, and  who  had  won  the  important  battle  of 
Gettysburg  in  the  previous  summer,  underwent 
a grave  change  through  Grant’s  promotion! 
Both  Meade  and  Grant  behaved  very  well| 
Meade  suggested  to  Grant  that  he  might  wish 
to  have  immediately  under  him  Sherman,  who 
had  been  serving  with  Grant  in  the  West|  He 
begged  him  not  to  hesitate  in  making  the 
change  if  he  thought  it  for  the  good  of  the  ser- 
vice|  The  work  in  hand,  he  said,  was  of  such 
vast  importance,  that  the  feelings  and  wishes  of 
no  one  person  should  stand  in  the  way  of  select- 


50 


General  Grant. 


ing  the  right  men|  He  was  willing  himself  to 
serve  to  the  best  of  his  ability  wherever  placed| 
Grant  assured  him  that  he  had  no  thought  of 
moving  him,  and  in  his  Memoirs,  after  relating 
what  had  passed,  he  adds  | “ This  incident  gave 
me  even  a more  favorable  opinion  of  Meade  than 
did  his  great  victory  at  Gettysburg  the  July 
beforej  It  is  men  who  wait  to  be  selected, 
and  not  those  who  seek,  from  whom  we  may 
always  expect  the  most  efficient  service|’  He 
tried  to  make  Meade’s  position  as  nearly  as  pos- 
sible what  it  would  have  been  had  he  himself 
been  away  in  Washington  or  elsewhere ; he 
gave  all  orders  for  the  movements  of  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  to  Meade  for  execution,  and  to 
avoid  the  necessity  of  having  to  give  direct 
orders  himself,  he  established  his  headquarters 
close  to  Meade’s  whenever  he  could|  Meade’s 
position,  however,  was  undoubtedly  a somewhat 
embarrassing  one ; but  its  embarrassment  was 
not  increased  by  soreness  on  his  part,  or  by 
want  of  delicacy  on  Grant’s^ 

In  the  West,  the  great  objects  to  be  attained 
by_Sh£rm-arn  were  the  defeat  of  Johnston  and 
his  army,  and  the  occupation  of  Atlanta!  These 
objects  he  accomplished,  proceeding  afterwards 
to  execute  his  hrilliamfc:  and  famous  marejuto 
Savannah  and  the  sea,  sweeping  the  whole 


General  Grant. 


Si 


State  of  Georgia!  In  the  East,  the  opposing 
forces  stood  between  the  Federal  and  Confed- 
erate capitals,  and  substantially  in  the  same 
relations  to  each  other  as  when  the  war  began 
three  years  before|  President  Lincoln  __  told 
Grant,  when  he  first  saw  him  in  private,  that 
although  he  had  never  professed  to  know  how 
campaigns  should  be  conducted,  and  never 
wanted  to  interfere  in  them,  yet  “procrasti- 
nation on  the  part  of  commanders,  and  the 
pressure  from  the  people  at  the  North  and 
Congress,  which  was  always  with  him , forced 
him  into  issuing  his  series  of  Military  Orders| 
He  did  not  know  but  they  were  all  wrong,  and 
did  know  that  some  of  them  werej  What  he 
wanted,”  he  continued,  “was  a general  who 
would  take  the  responsibility  and  act ; he  would 
support  him  with  all  the  power  of  the  Govern- 
ment!” He  added  that  he  did  not  even  ask  to 
know  what  Grant’s  plans  were|  But  such  is 
human  nature,  that  the  next  moment  he 
brought  out  a map  of  Virginia,  showed  Grant 
two  streams  running  into  the  Potomac,  and 
suggested  a plan  of  his  own  for  landing  the 
army  between  the  mouths  of  these  streams, 
which  would  protect  its  flanks  while  it  moved 
out|  “ I listened  respectfully,”  says  Grant, 
with  dry  humour,  “ but  did  not  suggest  that  the 


5 2 


General  Grant. 


same  streams  would  protect  Lee’s  flanks  while 
he  was  shutting  us  up|’ 

In  Grant  the  President  had  certainly  found 
a general  who  would  take  the  responsibility, 
would  act,  and  would  keep  his  plans  to  him- 
self|  To  beat  Lee  and  get  possession  of  his 
army,  was  the  object|  If  Lee  was  beaten  and 
his  army  captured,  the  fall  of  Richmond  must 
necessarily  follow|  If  Richmond  were  taken 
by  moving  the  army  thither  on  transports  up 
the  James  River,  but  meanwhile  Lee’s  army 
were  to  remain  whole  and  unimpaired,  the  end 
of  the  war  was  not  brought  any  nearer|  But 
the  end  of  the  war  must  be  reached  soon,  or 
the  North  might  grow  weary  of  continuing  the 
struggle|  For  three  years  the  war  had  raged, 
with  immense  losses  on  either  side,  and  no  de- 
cisive consummation  reached  by  either|  If  the 
South  could  succeed  in  prolonging  an  indeci- 
sive struggle  year  after  year  still,  the  North 
might  probably  grow  tired  of  the  contest,  and 
agree  to  a separation!  Persuaded  of  this,  Grant, 
at  the  beginning  of  May  1864,  crossed  the  Rap- 
idan  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  com- 
menced the  forty-three  days’  Campaign  of  the 
Wilderness! 

The  Wilderness  is  a tract  north  of  Richmond, 
between  the  Rapidan  and  the  James  River, 


General  Grant. 


53 


much  cut  up  with  streams  and  morasses,  full 
of  broken  ground,  densely  clothed  with  wood, 
and  thinly  inhabited!  The  principal  streams 
between  the  Rapidan  and  the  James  River  are 
the  branches  of  the  Anna,  uniting  in  the 
Pamunkey,  and  the  Chickahominyl  The  coun- 
try was  favorable  for  defence,  and  Lee  was  a 
general  to  make  the  most  of  its  advantages. 
Grant  was  in  an  enemy’s  country,  but,  moving 
by  his  left  flank,  was  in  connection  with  the 
sea,  of  which  the  Northerners  were  masters, 
and  was  abundantly  supplied  with  everything! 
Of  artillery,  in  particular,  he  had  so  much  that 
he  was  embarrassed  by  it,  and  had  to  send  some 
of  it  away|  Overwhelmingly  superior  in  num- 
bers and  resources,  he  pressed  steadily  forward, 
failing  and  repulsed  sometimes,  but  coolly  per- 
severing! This  campaign,  of  which  the  stages 
are  the  battles  of  Chancellorsville,  Spottsyl- 
vania,  North  Anna  and  Cold  Harbour,  was 
watched  at  the  time  in  Europe  with  keen  at- 
tention, and  is  much  better  known  than  the 
operations  in  the  West|  I shall  not  attempt 
any  account  of  it ; for  its  severity  let  the  losses 
of  Grant’s  successful  army  speak|  When  he 
crossed  the  Rapidan  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
numbered  115,000  men  ; during  the  forty-three 
days’  campaign  reinforcements  were  received 


54 


General  Grant. 


amounting  to  40,000  men  more|  When  the 
army  crossed  the  James  River,  it  was  116,000 
strong,  almost  exactly  the  same  strength  as 
at  the  beginning  of  the  campaign!  Thirty- 
nine  thousand  men  had  been  lost  in  forty- 
three  daysl 

A yet  greater  loss  must  have  been  incurred 
had  Grant  attacked  Lee’s  lines  in  front  of  Rich- 
mond ; and  therefore  crossing  the  James  River, 
he  invested,  after  failing  to  carry  it  by  assault, 
Petersburg,  the  enemy’s  important  stronghold 
south  of  Richmondl  Winter  came  and  passed. 
Lee’s  army  was  safe  in  its  lines,  and  Richmond 
had  not  yet  fallen  ; but  the  Confederates’  re- 
sources were  failing,  their  foes  gathering,  and 
the  end  came  visibly  near|  After  sweeping 
Georgia  and  taking  Savannah  in  December, 
Sherman  turned  north  and  swept  the  Caro- 
linas,  ready  to  join  with  Grant  in  moving  upon 
Lee  in  the  spring!  Sheridan  made  himself 
master  of  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  and  closed 
to  the  Confederates  that  great  source  of  sup- 
plyl  Finally  Grant,  resuming  operations  in 
March  1865,  possessed  himself  of  the  outer 
works  of  Petersburg,  and  of  the  railroad  by 
which  the  place  was  supplied  from  the  south- 
west, and  on  the  3rd  of  April  Petersburg  was 
evacuated!  Then  Grant  proceeded  to  possess 


General  Grant. 


55 


himself  of  the  railroad  by  which  Lee’s  army 
and  Richmond  itself  now  drew  their  supplies. 
Lee  had  already  informed  his  government  that 
he  could  hold  out  no  longerl  The  Confederate 
President  was  at  church  when  the  despatch 
arrived,  the  congregation  were  told  that  there 
would  be  no  evening  service,  and  the  authori- 
ties abandoned  Richmond  that  afternoon!  In 
the  field  there  was  some  sharp  fighting  for  a 
day  or  two  still ; but  Lee’s  army  was  crumb- 
ling away,  and  on  the  9th  of  April  he  wrote  to 
Grant,  requesting  an  interview  with  him  for  the 
purpose  of  surrendering  his  army!  Grant  was 
suffering  from  sick  headache  when  the  officer 
bearing  Lee’s  note  reached  him,  “but  the  in- 
stant I saw,”  he  says,  “the  contents  of  the 
note,  I was  curedf’ 

Then  followed,  in  the  afternoon  of  that  same 
day,  the  famous  interview  at  Appomattox  Court 
Housel  Grant  shall  himself  describe  the  meet- 
ing : 

“When  I had  left  camp  that  morning  I had 
not  expected  so  soon  the  result  that  was  then 
taking  place,  and  consequently  was  in  rough 
garb!  I was  without  a sword,  as  I usually  was 
when  on  horseback  in  the  field,  and  wore  a sol- 
dier’s blouse  for  a coat,  with  the  shoulder-straps 
of  my  rank  to  indicate  to  the  army  who  I was. 


56 


General  Grant. 


When  I went  into  the  house  I found  General 
Lee.  We  greeted  each  other,  and,  after  shak- 
ing hands,  took  our  seatsl 

“What  General  Lee’s  feelings  were  I do  not 
knowj  As  he  was  a man  of  much  dignity,  with 
an  impassible  face,  it  was  impossible  to  say 
whether  he  felt  inwardly  glad  that  the  end  had 
finally  come,  or  felt  sad  over  the  result  and  was 
too  manly  to  show  it|  Whatever  his  feelings, 
they  were  entirely  concealed  from  my  observa- 
tion ; but  my  own  feelings,  which  had  been 
quite  jubilant  on  the  receipt  of  his  letter,  were 
sad  and  depressed!  I felt  like  anything  rather 
than  rejoicing  at  the  downfall  of  a foe  who  had 
fought  so  long  and  valiantly,  and  had  suffered 
so  much  for  a cause,  though  that  cause  was,  I 
believe,  one  of  the  worst  for  which  a people 
ever  foug  ht| 

“ General  Lee  was  dressed  in  a full  uniform 
which  was  entirely  new,  and  was  wearing  a 
sword  of  considerable  value,  very  likely  the 
sword  which  had  been  presented  by  the  State 
of  Virginia!  In  my  rough  travelling  suit,  the 
uniform  of  a private  with  the  straps  of  a lieu- 
tenant-general, I must  have  contrasted  very 
strangely  with  a man  so  handsomely  dressed, 
six  feet  high  and  of  faultless  form!  But  this 
was  not  a matter  that  I thought  of  until  after- 
wards^ 


General  Gratit. 


“ We  soon  fell  into  a conversation  about  old 
army  timesf  He  remarked  that  he  remembered 
me  well  in  the  old  army  (of  Mexico) ; and  I told 
him  that  as  a matter  of  course  I remembered  him 
perfectly,  but  from  the  difference  in  our  rank 
and  years  (there  being  about  sixteen  years’  dif- 
ference in  our  ages)  I had  thought  it  likely  that 
I had  not  attracted  his  attention  sufficiently  to 
be  remembered  by  him  after  such  a long  in- 
terval! Our  conversation  grew  so  pleasant  that 
I almost  forgot  the  object  of  our  meeting! 
After  the  conversation  had  run  on  in  this  style 
for  some  time,  General  Lee  called  my  atten- 
tion to  the  object  of  our  meeting,  and  said  that 
he  had  asked  for  this  interview  for  the  purpose 
of  getting  from  me  the  terms  I proposed  to 
give  his  armvl  I said  that  I meant  merely 
that  his  army  should  lay  down  their  arms,  not 
to  take  them  up  again  during  the  continuance 
of  the  war  unless  duly  and  properly  ex- 
changedl’ 

Lee  acquiesced,  and  Grant,  who  throughout 
the  interview  seems  to  have  behaved  with  true 
delicacy  and  kindness,  proceeded  to  write  out 
the  terms  of  surrender|  It  occurred  to  him,  as 
he  was  writing,  that  it  would  be  an  unnecessary- 
humiliation  to  the  officers  to  call  upon  them  to 
surrender  their  side-arms,  and  also  that  they 


58 


General  Grant. 


would  be  glad  to  retain  their  private  horses  and 
effects,  and  accordingly  he  inserted  in  the 
terms  that  the  surrender  of  arms  and  prop- 
erty was  not  to  include  the  side-arms,  horses 
and  property  of  the  officers!  Lee  remarked 
that  this  would  have  a happy  effect  on  the 
army!  Grant  then  said  that  most  of  the  men 
in  Lee’s  ranks  were,  he  supposed,  small  farm- 
ers ; that  the  country  had  been  so  raided  by 
either  army  that  it  was  doubtful  whether  they 
would  be  able  to  put  in  a crop  to  carry  them- 
selves and  their  families  through  the  next  win- 
ter without  the  aid  of  the  horses  they  were  then 
riding  ; that  the  United  States  did  not  want 
them,  and  he  would  therefore  give  instructions 
to  let  every  man  of  the  Confederate  army,  who 
claimed  to  own  a horse  or  mule,  take  the  ani- 
mal to  his  home|  Again  Lee  remarked  that 
this  would  have  a happy  effectl 

At  half-past  four  Grant  could  telegraph  to 
the  Secretary  of  War  at  Washington  : “ Gen- 
eral Lee  surrendered  the  army  of  Northern 
Virginia  this  afternoon.!’  As  soon  as  the  news 
of  the  surrender  became  known,  Grant’s  army 
began  to  fire  a salute  of  a hundred  guns!  Grant 
instantly  stopped  it| 

The  war  was  at  an  end|  Johnston  surren- 
dered to  Sherman  in  North  Carolina!  Presi- 


General  Grant. 


59 


dent  Lincoln  visited  Richmond,  which  had  been 
occupied  by  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  the  day 
after  the  Confederate  Government  abandoned 
it|  The  President  on  his  return  to  Washington 
invited  Grant,  who  also  had  now  gone  thither,  to 
accompany  him  to  the  theatre  on  the  evening 
of  the  14th  of  April|  Grant  declined,  because 
he  was  to  go  off  that  evening  to  visit  his  chil- 
dren who  were  at  school  in  New  Jersey ; when 
he  reached  Philadelphia,  he  heard  that  the 
President  and  Mr.  Seward  had  been  assassin- 
ated! He  immediately  returned  to  Washington, 
to  find  the  joy  there  turned  to  mourning!  With 
this  tragic  event,  and  with  the  grand  review  in 
the  following  month  of  Meade’s  and  Sherman’s 
armies  by  the  new  President,  Mr.  Johnson,  the 
Memoirs  end| 

Modest  for  himself,  Grant  is  boastful,  as 
Americans  are  apt  to  be,  for  his  nationl  He 
says  with  perfect  truth  that  troops  who  have 
fought  a few  battles  and  won,  and  followed  up 
their  victories,  improve  upon  what  they  were 
before  to  an  extent  that  can  hardly  be  counted 
by  percentage ; and  that  his  troops  and  Sher- 
man’s which  had  gone  through  this  training, 
were  by  the  end  of  the  war  become  very  good 
and  seasoned  soldiers!  But  he  is  fond  of  add- 
ing, in  what  I must  call  the  American  vein, 


6o 


General  Grant. 


“better  than  any  European  soldiers {’  And  the 
reason  assigned  for  this  boast  is  in  the  Ameri- 
can vein  too : “ Because  they  not  only  worked 
like  a machine,  but  the  machine  thought!  Euro- 
pean armies  know  very  little  what  they  are 
fighting  for,  and  care  less.f’  Is  the  German 
army  a machine  which  does  not  think ) Did 
the  French  revolutionary  armies  know  very 
little  what  they  were  fighting  for,  and  care 
less  I Sainte-Beuve  says  charmingly  that  he 
“ cannot  bear  to  have  it  said  that  he  is  the  first 
in  anything ; it  is  not  a thing  that  can  be  ad- 
mitted, and  these  ways  of  classing  people 
give  offence^’  German  military  men  read 
Grant’s  boast,  and  are  provoked  into  replying 
that  the  campaigns  and  battles  of  the  Ameri- 
can Civil  War  were  mere  struggles  of  militia ; 
English  military  men  say  that  Americans  have 
been  steady  enough  behind  breastworks  and 
entrenchments  against  regulars,  but  never  in 
the  open  field|  Why  cannot  the  Americans, 
in  speaking  of  their  nation,  take  Sainte-Beuve’s 
happy  and  wise  caution  | 

The  point  is  worth  insisting  on,  because  to  be 
always  seeking  to  institute  comparisons,  and 
comparisons  to  the  advantage  of  their  own  coun- 
try, is  with  so  many  Americans  a tic , a mania, 
which  every  one  notices  in  them,  and  which 


General  Grant. 


61 


sometimes  drives  their  friends  half  to  despairl 
Recent  greatness  is  always  apt  to  be  sensitive 
and  self-assertive ; let  us  remember  Dr.  Her- 
mann Grimm  on  Goethef  German  literature,  as 
a power,  does  not  begin  before  Lessing  ; if  Ger- 
many had  possessed  a great  literature  for  six 
centuries,  with  names  in  it  like  Dante,  Mon- 
taigne, Shakespeare,  probably  Dr.  Hermann 
Grimm  would  not  have  thought  it  necessary  to 
call  Goethe  the  greatest  poet  that  has  ever 
lived>  But  the  Americans  m-the  rage  for  com- 
parison-making beat  the  world.|  Whatever  ex- 
cellence is  mentioned,  America  must,  if  possible, 
be  brought  in  to  balance  or  surpass  it.  ThaF 
fine  and  delicate  naturalist,  Mr.  Burroughs, 
mentions  trout,  and  instantly  he  adds  : “ British 
trout,  by  the  way,  are  not  so  beautiful  as  our 
own ; they  are  less  brilliantly  marked  and  have 
much  coarser  scales,  there  is  no  gold  or  vermil- 
ion in  their  colouring^’  Here  superiority  is 
claimed ; if  there  is  not  superiority  there  must 
be  at  least  balance|  Therefore  in  literature  we 
have  “the  American  Walter  Scott,”  the  “ Ameri- 
can Wordsworth  ” ; nay,  I see  advertised  The 
Primer  of  America7i  Literatur, ^ Imagine  the 
face  of  Philip  or  Alexander  at  hearing  of  a 
Primer  of  Macedonian  Literature  I Are  we  to 
have  a Primer  of  Canadian  Literature  too,  and 


62 


General  Grant. 


a Primer  of  Australian!  We  are  all  contribu- 
tories to  one  great  literature  — English  Litera- 
ture! The  contribution  of  Scotland  to  this 
literature  is  far  more  serious  and  important  than 
that  of  America  has  yet  had  time  to  be ; yet  a 
“ Primer  of  Scotch  Literature  ” would  be  an 
absurdity!  And  these  things  are  not  only  ab- 
surd ; they  are  also  retarding! 

My  opinion  on  any  military  subject  is  of 
course  worth  very  little,  but  I should  have 
thought  that  in  what  Napier  calls  “strength 
and  majesty  ” as  a fighter,  the  American  soldier, 
if  we  are  to  institute  these  comparisons,  had  his 
superiors  ; though  as  brave  as  any  one,  he  is  too 
ingenious,  too  mental,  to  be  the  perfection  of  a 
fighting  animal^  Where  the  Yankee  soldier  has 
an  unrivalled  advantage  is  in  his  versatility  and 
ingenuity ; dexterous,  willing,  suggestive,  he 
can  turn  his  hand  to  anything,  and  is  of  twenty 
trades  at  the  same  time  with  that  of  soldier| 
Grant’s  Memoirs  are  full  of  proofs  of  this  faculty, 
which  might  perhaps  be  of  no  great  use  in  a 
campaign  in  the  Low  Countries,  but  was  invalu- 
able in  such  campaigns  as  those  which  Grant  and 
Sherman  conducted  in  America|  When  the  bat- 
teries at  Vicksburg  were  to  be  run  with  hired 
river  steamers,  there  were  naturally  but  very  few 
masters  or  crews  who  were  willing  to  accompany 


General  Grant. 


63 


their  vessels  on  this  service  of  danger|  Volun- 
teers were  therefore  called  for  from  the  army, 
men  who  had  any  experience  in  river  naviga- 
gation|  “ Captains,  pilots,  mates,  engineers,  and 
deck-hands,  enough  presented  themselves,”  says 
Grant,  “to  take  five  times  the  number  of  ves- 
sels we  were  moving^’  The  resource  and 
rapidity  shown  by  the  troops  in  the  repair  of 
railroads  wrecked  by  the  enemy  were  marvellousj 
In  Sherman’s  Atlanta  campaign,  the  Confeder- 
ate cavalry  lurking  in  his  rear  to  burn  bridges 
and  obstruct  his  communications  had  become  so 
disgusted  at  hearing  trains  go  whistling  by, 
within  a few  hours  after  a bridge  had  been 
burned,  that  they  proposed  to  try  blowing  up 
some  of  the  tunnels!  One  of  them  said  on  this  : 
“ No  use,  boys ; old  Sherman  carries  duplicate 
tunnels  with  him,  and  will  replace  them  as  fast 
as  you  can  blow  them  up ; better  save  your 
powder 

But  a leader  to  use  these  capable  and  in- 
telligent forces,  to  use  all  the  vast  resources  of 
the  North,  was  needed,  a leader  wise,  cool,  firm, 
bold,  persevering,  and  at  the  same  time,  as  Car- 
dinal Mazarin  says,  heureux ; and  such  a leader 
the  United  States  found  in  General  Grant| 

He  concludes  his  Memoirs  by  some  advice  to 
his  own  country  and  some  remarks  on  ours| 


64 


General  Grant. 


The  United  States,  he  says,  are  going  on  as  if 
in  the  greatest  security,  “when  they  have  not 
the  power  to  resist  an  invasion  by  the  fleets  of 
fourth-rate  European  Powers  for  a time  until  we 
could  prepare  for  themtf’  The  United  States 
“ should  have  a good  navy,  and  our  sea-coast 
defences  should  be  put  in  the  finest  possible 
condition!  Neither  of  these  cost  much  when  it 
is  considered  where  the  money  goes  and  what 
we  get  in  returnl” 

The  tone  and  temper  of  his  remarks  on  Eng- 
land, and  on  her  behaviour  during  the  war,  are 
in  honourable  contrast  with  the  angry  acrimony 
shown  by  many  who  should  have  known  better^ 
He  regretted,  he  said,  the  exasperation!  “The 
hostility  of  England  to  the  United  States,  dur- 
ing our  rebellion,  was  not  so  much  real  as  it  was 
apparent!  It  was  the  hostility  of  the  leaders  of 
one  political  party!  England  and  the  United 
States  are  natural  allies,  and  should  be  the  best 
of  friends|” 

The  Memoirs  stop,  as  I have  said,  in  1865, 
and  do  not  embrace  Grant’s  Presidency,  his 
journey  to  Europe,  his  financial  disaster,  his 
painful  illness  and  death|  As  to  his  financial 
disaster,  I will  repeat  what  one  of  Grant’s  best 
friends,  a man  of  great  business  faculty  and  of 
great  fortune,  remarked  to  me|  I had  been 


General  Grant. 


65 


saying,  what  one  says  so  easily,  that  it  was  a 
pity  Grant  had  suffered  himself  to  be  drawn  in 
by  speculators!  “Yes,”  answered  his  friend, 
“ it  was  a pity!  But  see  how  it  happened,  and 
put  yourself  in  Grant’s  placet  Like  Grant,  you 
may  have  a son  to  whom  you  are  partial,  and 
like  Grant,  you  have  no  knowledge  of  business| 
Had  you  been,  like  Grant,  in  a position  to  make 
it  worth  while  for  a leader  in  business  and 
finance  to  come  to  you,  saying  that  your  son  had 
a quite  exceptional  talent  for  these  matters,  that 
it  was  a thousand  pities  his  talent  should  be 
thrown  away,  ‘ give  him  to  me  and  I will  make 
a man  of  him,’  would  you  not  have  been  flattered 
in  your  parental  pride,  would  you  not  have 
yielded!  This  is  what  happened  to  Grant,  and 
all  his  financial  misfortunes  flowed  from  hence|” 
I listened,  and  could  not  deny  that  most  proba- 
bly I should  have  been  flattered  to  my  ruin,  as 
Grant  was| 

Grant’s  Memoirs  are  a mine  of  interesting 
things ; I have  but  scratched  the  surface  and 
presented  a few  samples!  When  I began,  I did 
not  know  that  the  book  had  heen  reprinted  in 
England ; I find  that  it  has,*  and  that  its  circu- 
lation here,  though  trifling  indeed  compared  to 
that  in  America,  has  been  larger  than  I sup- 

* By  Messrs.  Sampson  Low,  Marston  & Co., 


66 


General  Grant. 


posed.  But  certainly  the  book  has  not  been 
read  here  anything  like  so  much  as  it  deserves! 
It  contains  a gallery  of  portraits,  characters  of 
generals  who  served  in  the  war,  for  which  alone 
the  book,  if  it  contained  nothing  else,  would  be 
well  worth  readingj  But  after  all,  its  great 
value  is  in  the  character  which,  quite  simply 
and  unconsciously,  it  draws  of  Grant  himselfy 
The  Americans  are  too  self-laudatory,  too  apt  to 
force  the  tone  and  thereby,  as  Sainte-Beuve 
says,  to  give  offence  ; the  best  way  for  them  to 
make  us  forgive  and  forget  this  is  to  pro- 
duce what  is  simple  and  sterling^  Instead 
of  Primers  of  American  Literature,  let  them 
bring  forth  more  Maxims  of.  Poor  Richard ; in- 
stead of  assurances  that  they  are  “ the  greatest 
nation  upon  earth,”  let  them  give  us  more 
Lees,  Lincolns,  Shermans,  and  Grants^ 


A WORD  ABOUT  AMERICA. 


II. 


A WORD  ABOUT  AMERICA. 

Mr.  Lowell,  in  an  interesting  but  rather 
tart  essay,  “ On  a certain  Condescension  in 
Foreigners,”  warns  off  Englishmen  who  may  be 
disposed  to  write  or  speak  about  the  United 
States  of  America|  “ I never  blamed  England 
for  not  wishing  well  to  democracy,”  he  cries  ; 
“how  should  she!”  But  the  criticisms  and 
dealings  of  Englishmen,  in  regard  to  the  object 
of  their  ill-will,  are  apt,  Mr.  Lowell  declares,  to 
make  him  impatient|  “ Let  them  give  up  trying 
to  understand  us,  still  more  thinking  that  they 
do,  and  acting  in  various  absurd  ways  as  the 
necessary  consequence  ; for  they  will  never 
arrive  at  that  devoutly  to  be  wished  consum- 
mation, till  they  learn  to  look  at  us  as  we  are, 
and  not  as  they  suppose  us  to  betf’ 

On  the  other  hand,  from  some  quarters  in 
America  come  reproaches  to  us  for  not  speaking 
about  America  enough,  for  not  making  sufficient 
use  of  her  in  illustration  of  what  we  bring  for- 
ward! Mr.  Higginson  expresses  much  surprise 
69 


70  A Word  about  America. 

that  when,  for  instance,  I dilate  on  the  benefits 
of  equality,  it  is  to  France  that  I have  recourse 
for  the  illustration  and  confirmation  of  my  the- 
sis, not  to  the  United  States!  A Boston  news- 
paper supposes  me  to  “ speak  of  American 
manners  as  vulgar,”  and  finds,  what  is  worse, 
that  the  Atlantic  Monthly,  commenting  on  this 
supposed  utterance  of  mine,  adopts  it  and  car- 
ries it  further!  For  the  writer  in  the  Atlantic 
Monthly  says  that,  indeed,  “the  hideousness 
and  vulgarity  of  American  manners  are  unde- 
niable,” and  that  “redemption  is  only  to  be 
expected  by  the  work  of  a few  enthusiastic 
individuals,  conscious  of  cultivated  tastes  and 
generous  desires”  ; or,  as  these  enthusiasts  are 
presently  called  by  the  writer,  “rather  highly 
civilized  individuals,  a few  in  each  of  our  great 
cities  and  their  environs|”  The  Boston  news- 
paper observes,  with  a good  deal  of  point,  that 
it  is  from  these  exceptional  enthusiasts  that  the 
heroes  of  the  tales  of  Mr.  James  and  Mr. 
Howells  seem  to  be  recruitedj  It  shrewdly 
describes  them  as  “ people  who  spend  more 
than  half  their  life  in  Europe,  and  return  only 
to  scold  their  agents  for  the  smallness  of  their 
remittances  ” ; and  protests  that  such  people 
“ will  have,  and  can  have,  no  perceptible  influ- 
ence for  good  on  the  real  civilization  of  Amer- 


A Word  about  America.  71 

ica|’  Then  our  Boston  friend  turns  to  me 
again,  says  that  “it  is  vulgar  people  from  the 
large  cities  who  have  given  Mr.  Arnold  his 
dislike  of  American  manners,”  and  adds,  that 
“if  it  should  ever  happen  that  hard  destiny 
should  force  Mr.  Arnold  to  cross  the  Atlantic,” 
I should  find  “ in  the  smaller  cities  of  the  inte- 
rior, in  the  northern,  middle,  and  southwestern 
states,  an  elegant  and  simple  social  order,  as 
entirely  unknown  in  England,  Germany,  or 
Italy,  as  the  private  life  of  the  dukes  or  princes 
of  the  blood  is  unknown  in  Americajf  Yes,  I 
“ should  find  a manner  of  life  belonging  to  the 
highest  civilization,  in  towns,  in  counties,  and 
in  states  whose  names  had  never  been  heard  ” by 
me ; and,  if  I could  take  the  writer  in  the  At- 
lantic Monthly  to  see  it  along  with  me,  it  would 
do  him,  says  his  compatriot,  a great  deal  of 
g°°d| 

I do  not  remember  to  have  anywhere,  in 
my  too  numerous  writings,  spoken  of  American 
manners  as  vulgar,  or  to  have  expressed  my 
dislike  of  them|  I have  long  accustomed  myself 
to  regard  the  people  of  the  United  States  as 
just  the  same  people  with  ourselves,  as  simply 
“the  English  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic^’ 
The  ethnology  of  that  American  diplomatist, 
who  the  other  day  assured  a Berlin  audience 


72 


A Word  about  America. 


that  the  great  admixture  of  Germans  had  now 
made  the  people  of  the  United  States  as  much 
German  as  English,  has  not  yet  prevailed  with 
me|  I adhere  to  my  old  persuasion,  the  Amer- 
icans of  the  United  States  are  English  people 
on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlanticl  I learned  it 
from  Burkejl  But  from  Burke  I learned,  too,  with 
what  immense  consequences  and  effects  this 
simple  matter  — the  settlement  of  a branch  of 
the  English  people  on  the  other  side  of  the  At- 
lantic— was,  from  the  time  of  their  consti- 
tution as  an  independent  power,  certainly  and 
inevitably  charged^  Let  me  quote  his  own 
impressive  and  profound  words  on  the  acknowl- 
edgment of  American  independence,  in  1782  : — 

A great  revolution  has  happened — a revolution  made, 
not  by  chopping  and  changing  of  power  in  any  of  the  ex- 
isting states,  but  by  the  appearance  of  a new  state,  of  a 
new  species,  in  a new  part  of  the  globe|  It  has  made  as 
great  a change  in  all  the  relations,  and  balances,  and 
gravitations  of  power,  as  the  appearance  of  a new  planet 
would  in  the  system  of  the  solar  world| 

As  for  my  esteeming  it  a hard  destiny  which 
should  force  me  to  visit  the  United  States,  I will 
borrow  Goethe’s  words,  and  say,  that  “ not  the 
spirit  is  bound,  but  the  foot  ” ; with  the  best 
will  in  the  world,  I have  never  yet  been  able  to 


A Word  about  America.  73 

go  to  America,  and  probably  I never  shall  be 
able|  But  many  a kind  communication  I re- 
ceive from  that  quarter ; and  when  one  has 
much  discoursed  on  equality  and  on  civilization, 
and  then  is  told  that  in  America  a lover  of  these 
will  find  just  what  suits  him,  and  is  invited,  and 
almost  challenged,  to  turn  one’s  eyes  there,  and 
to  bear  testimony  to  what  one  beholds,  it  seems 
ungracious  or  cowardly  to  take  no  notice  at  all 
of  such  challenges,  but  to  go  on  talking  of 
equality  and  civilization  just  as  if  America  had 
never  existed!  True,  there  is  Mr.  Lowell’s 
warning®  Englishmen  easily  may  fall  into  ab- 
surdities in  criticising  America,  most  easily  of 
all  when  they  do  not,  and  cannot,  see  it  with 
their  own  eyes,  but  have  to  speak  of  it  from 
what  they  readg  Then,  too,  people  are  sensi- 
tive ; certainly,  it  would  be  safer  and  pleasanter 
to  say  nothing!  And  as  the  prophet  Jonah, 
when  he  had  a message  for  Nineveh,  hurried 
off  in  alarm  down  to  Joppa,  and  incontinently 
took  ship  there  for  Tarshish,  in  just  the  oppo- 
site direction,  so  one  might  find  plenty  of  reasons 
for  running  away  from  the  task,  when  one  is 
summoned  to  give  one’s  opinion  of  American 
civilization^  But  Ewald  says  that  it  was  a sorry 
and  unworthy  calculation,  petty  human  reason- 
mongering  — menschliche  Vernunftmei  — which 


74 


A Word  about  America. 


made  Jonah  run  away  from  his  task  in  this 
fashion  ; and  we  will  not  run  away  from  ours, 
difficult  though  it  beg 

Besides,  there  are  considerations  which  dimin- 
ish its  difficulty!  When  one  has  confessed  the 
belief  that  the  social  system  of  one’s  own 
country  is  so  far  from  being  perfect  that  it  pre- 
sents us  with  the  spectacle  of  an  upper  class 
materialized,  a middle  class  vulgarized,  a lower 
class  brutalized,  one  has  earned  the  right,  per- 
haps, to  speak  with  candor  of  the  social  systems 
of  other  countries!  Mr.  Lowell  complains  that 
we  English  make  our  narrow  Anglicism,  as  he 
calls  it,  the  standard  of  all  things;  but  “we  are 
worth  nothing,”  says  Mr.  Lowell  of  himself 
and  his  countrymen,  “we  are  worth  nothing 
except  so  far  as  we  have  disinfected  ourselves 
of  Anglicism^’  Mr.  Hussey  Vivian,  the  mem- 
ber for  Glamorganshire,  goes  to  travel  in  Amer- 
ica, and  when  he  comes  back,  delighted  with 
the  country  and  the  people,  he  publishes  his 
opinion  that  just  two  things  are  wanting  to 
their  happiness, — a sovereign  of  the  British 
type,  and  a House  of  Lords  } — 

If  Americans  could  only  get  over  the  first  wrench,  and 
elect  a king  of  the  old  stock,  under  the  same  limited  con- 
stitutional conditions  as  our  sovereigns,  and  weld  their 
separate  states  into  one  compact  and  solid  nation,  many 


A Word  about  America. 


75 


of  them  would  be  only  too  thankful|  I cannot  help  sus- 
pecting, also,  that  they  would  not  be  sorry  to  transform 
their  Senate  into  a House  of  Lords^  There  are  fortunes 
amply  large  enough  to  support  hereditary  rule,  and  men 
who  will  not  now  enter  political  life  upon  any  consideration 
would  doubtless  do  their  duty  as  patriotically  as  our  peers, 
if  not  compelled  to  face  the  dirt  of  candidature#  As  to 
aristocratic  ideas  being  foreign  to  Americans,  I do  not 
believe  it  for  a moment ; on  the  contrary,  I believe  them 
to  be  a highly  aristocratic  people^ 

I suppose  this  may  serve  as  a specimen  of  the 
Anglicism  which  is  so  exasperating  to  Mr.  Low- 
ell! I do  not  share  it|  Mr.  Hussey  Vivian  has 
a keen  eye  for  the  geological  and  mining  facts 
of  America,  but  as  to  the  political  facts  of  that 
country,  the  real  tendencies  of  its  life,  and  its 
future,  he  does  not  seem  to  me  to  be  at  all  at 
the  centre  of  the  situation|  Far  from  “ not 
wishing  well  to  democracy,”  far  from  thinking 
a king  and  a House  of  Lords,  of  our  English 
pattern,  a panacea  for  social  ills,  I have  freely 
said  that  our  system  here,  in  my  opinion,  has 
too  much  thrown  the  middle  classes  in  upon 
themselves,  that  the  lower  classes  likewise  are 
thus  too  much  thrown  in  upon  themselves,  and 
that  we  suffer  from  the  want  of  equality|| 
Nothing  would  please  me  better  than  to  find 
the  difficulty  solved  in  America,  to  find  democ- 
racy a success  there,  with  a type  of  equality 


76 


A Word  about  America. 


producing  such  good  results,  that,  when  one 
preaches  equality,  one  should  illustrate  its 
advantages  not  from  the  example  of  the  French, 
but,  as  Mr.  Higginson  recommends,  from  the 
example  of  the  people  of  the  United  States!  I 
go  back  again  to  my  Boston  newspaper  ( — 

In  towns  whose  names  Mr.  Arnold  never  heard,  and 
never  will  hear,  there  will  be  found  almost  invariably  a 
group  of  people  of  good  taste,  good  manners,  good  educa- 
tion, and  of  self-respect,  peers  of  any  people  in  the  world| 
Such  people  read  the  best  books,  they  interpret  the  best 
music,  they  are  interested  in  themes  world- wide,  and  they 
meet  each  other  with  that  mutual  courtesy  and  that  self- 
respect  which  belong  to  men  and  women  who  are  sure  of 
their  footing| 

This  is  what  we  want ; and  if  American  democ- 
racy gives  this,  Mr.  Lowell  may  rely  upon  it 
that  no  narrow  Anglicism  shall  prevent  my 
doing  homage  to  American  democracy! 

Only,  we  must  have  a clear  understanding 
about  one  thing|  This  is  a case  where  the 
question  of  numbers  is  of  capital  importance 
Even  in  our  poor  old  country,  with  its  aristo- 
cratic class  materialized,  its  middle  class  vulgar- 
ized, its  lower  class  brutalized,  there  are  to  be 
found  individuals,  as  I have  again  and  again 
said,  lovers  of  the  humane  life,  lovers  of  perfec- 
tion, who  emerge  in  all  classes,  and  who,  while 


A Word  about  America. 


77 


they  are  more  or  less  in  conflict  with  the  pres- 
ent, point  to  a better  future#  Individuals  of 
this  kind  I make  no  doubt  at  all  that  there  are 
in  American  society  as  well  as  here#  The 
writer  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly  himself,  unfavor- 
able as  is  his  judgment  on  his  country’s  civiliza- 
tion in  general,  admits  that  he  can  find  a certain 
number  of  “ enthusiastic  individuals  conscious 
of  cultivated  tastes  and  generous  desires.#  Of 
these  “rather  highly  civilized  individuals  ” there 
are,  he  says,  “ a few  in  each  of  our  great  cities 
and  their  environs.#  His  rebuker  in  the  Boston 
newspaper  says  that  these  centres  of  sweetness 
and  light  are  rather  in  the  small  towns  than  in 
the  large  ones  ; but  that  is  not  a matter  of  much 
importance  to  us%  The  important  question  is : 
In  what  numbers  are  they  to  be  found  I Well, 
there  is  a group  of  them,  says  the  Boston  news- 
paper, in  almost  any  small  town  of  the  northern, 
middle,  and  southwestern  states^  This  is  in- 
deed civilization!  A group  of  lovers  of  the 
humane  life,  an  “ elegant  and  simple  social 
order,”  as  its  describer  calls  it,  existing  in  almost 
every  small  town  of  the  northern,  middle,  and 
southwestern  states  of  America,  and  this  in 
addition  to  circles  in  New  York  and  other  great 
cities  with  “ a social  life  as  dignified,  as  elegant, 
and  as  noble  as  any  in  the  world  ” — all  this 


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A Word  about  America. 


must  needs  leaven  American  society,  and  must 
surely,  if  we  can  take  example  from  it,  enable 
us  to  leaven  and  transform  our  own|  Leaven 
American  society  it  already  does,  we  hear!  — 

It  is  such  people  who  keep  the  whole  sentiment  of  the 
land  up  to  a high  standard|  While  the  few  “ rather  highly 
civilized  individuals  ” are  hopping  backwards  and  forwards 
over  the  Atlantic  to  learn  what  is  the  last  keynote  which 
a pinchbeck  emperor  has  decided  on,  or  what  is  the  last 
gore  which  a man-milliner  has  decreed,  these  American 
gentlemen  and  ladies,  in  the  dignity  of  their  own  homes, 
are  making  America!  It  is  they  who  maintain  the  na- 
tional credit,  it  is  they  who  steadily  improve  the  standard 
of  national  education|  If  Mr.  Arnold  should  ever  see 
them  in  their  own  homes,  it  is  they  who  will  show  him 
what  is  the  normal  type  of  American  manners| 

Our  Boston  informant  writes  so  crisply  and 
smartly  that  one  is  unwilling  to  part  with  him| 
I can  truly  say  that  I would  rather  read  him 
and  quote  him  than  join  issue  with  him|i  He 
has  seen  America,  and  I have  not|  Perhaps 
things  in  America  are  as  he  saysj  I am  sure  I 
hope  they  are,  for,  as  I have  just  said,  I have 
been  long  convinced  that  English  society  has  to 
transform  itself,  and  long  looking  in  vain  for  a 
model  by  which  we  might  be  guided  and  inspired 
in  the  bringing  forth  of  our  new  civilization ; 
and  here  is  the  model  ready  to  hand|  But  I own 


A Word  about  America. 


79 


that  hitherto  I have  thought  that,  as  we  in 
England  have  to  transform  our  civilization,  so 
America  has  hers  still  to  make  ; and  that,  though 
her  example  and  co-operation  might,  and  proba- 
bly would,  be  of  the  greatest  value  to  us  in  the 
future,  yet  they  were  not  of  much  use  to  our 
civilization  now|  I remember,  that  when  I first 
read  the  Boston  newspaper  from  which  I have 
been  quoting,  I was  just  fresh  from  the  perusal 
of  one  of  the  best  of  Mr.  James’s  novels,  “Rod- 
erick Hudson.^’  That  work  carries  us  to  one  of 
the  “ smaller  cities  of  the  interior,”  a city  of 
which,  I own,  I had  never  heard  — the  Ameri- 
can Northampton!  Those  who  have  read  “ Rod- 
erick Hudson  ” will  recollect,  that  in  that  part  of 
the  story  where  the  scene  is  laid  at  Northamp- 
ton, there  occurs  a personage  called  Striker,  an 
auctioneer!  And  when  I came  upon  the  Boston 
newspaper’s  assurances  that,  in  almost  every 
small  town  of  the  Union,  I should  find  “an 
elegant  and  simple  social  order,”  the  comment 
which  rose  to  my  lips  was  this  % “ I suspect 
what  I should  find  there,  in  great  force,  is 
Striker^’  Now  Striker  was  a Philistine| 

I have  said  somewhere  or  other  that,  whereas 
our  society  in  England  distributes  itself  into 
Barbarians,  Philistines,  and  Populace,  America 
Ts  Just  ourselves,'  with  the  Barbarians  quite  left 


8o 


A Word  about  America. 


out,  and  the  Populace  nearly.J  This  would  leave 
the  Philistines  for  the  great  bulk  of  the  nation ; 
a livelier  sort  of  Philistines  than  our  Philistine 
middle  class  which  made  and  peopled  the 
United  States  — a livelier  sort  of  Philistine 
than  ours,  and  with  the  pressure  and  the  false 
ideal  of  our  Barbarians  taken  away,  but  left  all 
the  more  to  himself,  and  to  have  hi^full  swingA 
That  this  should  be  the  case  seemed  to  me 
natural,  and  that  it  actually  was  the  case,  every- 
thing which  I could  hear  and  read  about  Amer- 
ica tended  to  convince  me|  And  when  my 
Boston  friend  talks  of  the  “ elegant  and  simple 
social  order  established  in  almost  every  small 
town  in  America,  and  of  the  group,  in  each,  of 
people  of  good  taste,  good  manners,  good  edu- 
cation and  self-respect,  peers  of  any  people  in 
the  world,”  I cannot  help  thinking  that  things 
are  not  quite  so  bright  as  he  paints  them,  and 
so  superior  to  anything  of  which  we  have  expe- 
rience elsewhere  ; that  he  is  mixing  two  impres- 
sions together,  the  impression  of  individuals 
scattered  over  the  country,  real  lovers  of  the 
humane  life,  but  not  yet  numerous  enough  or 
united  enough  to  produce  much  effect,  and  the 
impression  of  groups  of  worthy  respectable 
people  to  be  found  in  almost  every  small  town 
of  the  Union,  people  with  many  merits,  but  not 


A Word  about  America. 


81 


yet  arrived  at  that  true  and  happy  goal  of  civili- 
zation, “an  elegant  and  simple  social  order!’ 

We,  too,  have  groups  of  this  kind  everywhere, 
and  we  know  what  they  can  do  for  us  and  what 
they  cannot  do|  It  is  easy  to  praise  them,  to 
flatter  the^i,  to  express  unbounded  satisfaction 
with  them,  to  speak  as  if  they  gave  us  all  that 
we  needed^  We  have  done  so  here  in  England. 
These  groups,  with  us,  these  serious  and  effec- 
tive forces  of  our  middle  class,  have  been  ex- 
tolled as  “that  section  of  the  community  which 
has  astonished  the  world  by  its  energy,  enter- 
prise, and  self-reliance,  which  is  continually 
striking  out  new  paths  of  industry  and  subdu- 
ing the  forces  of  nature,  which  has  done  all  the 
great  things  that  have  been  done  in  all  depart- 
ments, and  which  supplies  the  mind,  the  will, 
and  the  power  for  all  the  great  and  good  things 
that  have  still  to  be  done|’  So  cry  the  news- 
papers ; our  great  orators  take  up  the  same 
strain!  The  middle-class  doers  of  English 
race,  with  their  industry  and  religion,  are  the 
salt  of  the  earthl  “ The  cities  you  have  built,” 
exclaims  Mr.  Bright,  “ the  railroads  you  have 
made,  the  manufactures  you  have  produced, 
the  cargoes  which  freight  the  ships  of  the 
greatest  mercantile  navy  the  world  has  ever 
seen  |”  There  we  have  their  industry|  Then 


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A Word  about  America. 


comes  the  praise  of  their  religion,  their  own 
specially  invented  and  indomitably  maintained 
form  of  religion.  “ Let  a man  consider,”  ex- 
claims Mr.  Bright  again,  “ how  much  of  what 
there  is  free  and  good  and  great,  and  constantly 
growing  in  what  is  good,  in  this  Country,  is 
owing  to  Nonconformist  action|  Look  at  the 
churches  and  chapels  it  has  reared  over  the 
whole  country ; look  at  the  schools  it  has 
built  ; look  at  the  ministers  it  has  supported  ; 
look  at  the  Christian  work  which  it  has  con- 
ducted! ^ would  be  well  for  the  Nonconform- 
ists, especially  for  the  young  among  them,  that 
they  should  look  back  to  the  history  of  their 
fathers,  and  that  they  should  learn  from  them 
how  much  is  due  to  truth  and  how  much  they 
have  sacrificed  to  conscience^’ 

It  is  the  groups  of  industrious,  religious,  and 
unshakable  Nonconformists  in  all  the  towns, 
small  and  great,  of  England,  whose  praise  is 
here  celebrated  by  Mr.  Brightl  But  he  has 
an  even  more  splendid  tribute  of  praise  for 
their  brethren  of  the  very  same  stock,  and  sort, 
and  virtue,  in  America  also|  The  great  scale  of 
things  in  America  powerfully  impresses  Mr. 
Bright’s  imagination  always  ; he  loves  to  count 
the  prodigious  number  of  acres  of  land  there, 
the  prodigious  number  of  bushels  of  wheat 


A Word  about  America. 


83 


raised!  The  voluntary  principle,  the  principle 
of  modern  English  Nonconformity,  is  on  the 
same  grand  and  impressive  scalef  “ There  is 
nothing  which  piety  and  zeal  have  ever  offered 
on  the  face  of  the  earth  as  a tribute  to  religion 
and  religious  purposes,  equal  to  that  which  has 
been  done  by  the  voluntary  principle  among  the 
people  of  the  United  StatesJ’ 

I cannot  help  thinking  that  my  Boston  infor- 
mant mixes  up,  I say,  the  few  lovers  of  perfec- 
tion with  the  much  more  numerous  representa- 
tives, serious,  industrious,  and  in  many  ways 
admirable,  of  middle-class  virtue  ; and  imagines 
that  in  almost  every  town  of  the  United  States 
there  is  a group  of  lovers  of  perfection,  whereas 
the  lovers  of  perfection  are  much  less  thickly! 
sown  than  he  supposes,  but  what  there  really  is! 
in  almost  every  town  is  a group  of  representa- 
tives of  middle-class  virtue!  And  the  fruits  by 
which  he  knows  his  men,  the  effects  which  they 
achieve  for  the  national  life  and  civilization,  are 
just  the  fruits,  be  it  observed,  which  the  repre- 
sentatives of  middle-class  virtue  are  capable  of 
producing  and  produce  for  us  here  in  England, 
too,  and  for  the  production  of  which  we  need 
not  have  recourse  to  an  extraordinary  supply 
of  lovers  of  perfection!  “ It  is  such  people,” 
he  says,  “ who  keep  the  whole  sentiment  of  the 


84  A Word  about  America. 

land  up  to  a high  standard  when  war  comes,  or 
rebellion^’  But  this  is  just  what  the  middle- 
class  virtue  of  our  race  is  abundantly  capable 
of  doing  ; as  Puritan  England  in  the  seventeenth 
century,  and  the  inheritors  of  the  traditions  of 
Puritan  England  since,  have  signally  shownj 
“ It  is  they  who  maintain  the  national  credit,  it 
is  they  who  steadily  improve  the  standard  of 
national  education^”  By  national  education  our 
informant  means  popular  education  ; and  here, 
too,  we  are  still  entirely  within  the  pale  of  mid- 
dle-class achievement!  Both  in  England  and  in 
America,  the  middle  class  is  abundantly  capable 
of  maintaining  the  national  credit,  and  does 
maintain  it!  It  is  abundantly  capable  of  rec- 
ognizing the  duty  of  sending  to  school  the  chil- 
dren of  the  people ; nay,  of  sending  them  also, 
if  possible,  to  a Sunday  school,  and  to  chapel  or 
church!  True  ; and  yet,  in  England  at  any  rate, 
the  middle  class,  with  all  its  industry  and  with 
all  its  religiousness,  — the  middle  class  well  typi- 
fied, as  I long  ago  pointed  out,  by  a certain  Mr. 
Smith,  a secretary  to  an  insurance  company, 
who  “ labored  under  the  apprehension  that  he 
would  come  to  poverty  and  that  he  was  eter- 
nally lost,”  — the  English  middle  class  presents 
us  at  this  day,  for  our  actual  needs,  and  for 
the  purposes  of  national  civilization,  with  a de- 


A Word  about  America. 


85 


fective  type  of  religion,  a narrow  range  of  intel- 
lect and  knowledge,  a stunted  sense  of  beauty, 
a low  standard  of  manners|  For  the  building 
up  of  human  life,  as  men  are  now  beginning  to 
see,  there  are  needed  not  only  the  powers  of 
industry  and  conduct,  but  the  power,  also,  of 
intellect  and  knowledge,  the  power  of  beauty, 
the  power  of  social  life  and  mannersl  And 
that  type  of  life  of  which  our  middle  class  in 
England  are  in  possession  is  one  by  which 
neither  the  claims  of  intellect  and  knowledge 
are  satisfied,  nor  the  claim  of  beauty,  nor  the 
claims  of  social  life  and  manners^ 

That  which  in  England  we  call  the  middle 
class  is  in  America  virtually  the  nation!  It  is 
in  America  in  great  measure  relieved,  as  I have 
said,  of  what  with  us  is  our  Populace,  and  it  is 
relieved  of  the  pressure  and  false  ideal  of  our 
Barbarians.%  It  is  generally  industrious  and 
religious,  as  our  middle  ciassf  Its  religion  is 
even  less  invaded,  I believe,  by  the  modern 
spirit  than  the  religion  of  our  middle  class|  An 
American  of  reputation  as  a man  of  science  tells 
me  that  he  lives  in  a town  of  a hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  people,  of  whom  there  are  not 
fifty  who  do  not  imagine  the  first  chapters  of 
Genesis  to  be  exact  history!  Mr.  Dale,  of  Bir- 
mingham, found,  he  says,  that  “ orthodox  Chris- 


1/ 


86 


A Word  about  America. 


tian  people  in  America  were  less  troubled  by 
attacks  on  the  orthodox  creed  than  the  like 
people  in  England!  They  seemed  to  feel  sure 
of  their  ground  and  they  showed  no  alarmj” 
Public  opinion  requires  public  men  to  attend 
regularly  some  place  of  worship!  The  favorite 
denominations  are  those  with  which  we  are 
here  familiar  as  the  denominations  of  Protest- 
ant dissent;  when  Mr.  Dale  tells  us  of  “the 
Baptists,  not  including  the  Free  Will  Baptists, 
Seventh  Day  Baptists,  Six  Principle  Baptists, 
and  some  other  minor  sects,”  one  might  fancy 
oneself  reading  the  list  of  the  sects  in  Whita- 
ker's Almanacki  But  in  America  this  type  of 
religion  is  not,  as  it  is  here,'  a subordinate  type, 
it  is  the  predominant  and  accepted  one|  Our 
Dissenting  ministers  think  themselves  in  para- 
dise when  they  visit  America!  In  that  univer- 
sally religious  country,  the  religious  denomina- 
tion which  has  by  much  the  largest  number  of 
adherents  is  that,  I believe,  of  Methodism  origi- 
nating in  John  Wesley,  and  which  we  know  in 
this  country  as  having  for  its  standard  of  doc- 
trine Mr.  Wesley’s  fifty-three  sermons  and 
notes  on  the  New  Testament!  I have  a sin- 
cere admiration  for  Wesley,  and  a sincere 
esteem  for  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  body  in 
this  country ; I have  seen  much  of  it,  and  for 


A Word  about  Avierica. 


87 


many  of  its  members  my  esteem  is  not  only 
sincere  but  also  affectionate!  I know  how  one’s 
religious  connections  and  religious  attachments 
are  determined  by  the  circumstances  of  one’s 
birth  and  bringing  up  ; and  probably,  if  I had 
been  born  and  brought  up  among  the  Wesley- 
ans,  I should  never  have  left  their  body!  But 
certainly  I should  have  wished  my  children  to 
leave  it ; because  to  live  with  one’s  mind,  in 
regard  to  a matter  of  absorbing  importance  as 
Wesleyans  believe  religion  to  be,  to  live  with 
one’s  mind,  as  to  a matter  of  this  sort,  fixed 
constantly  upon  a mind  of  the  third  order,' such 
as  was  Mr.  Wesley’s,  seems  to  me  extremely 
trying  and  injurious  for  the  minds  of  men  in 
general}!  And  people  whose  minds,  in  what  is 
the  chief  concern  of  their  lives,  are  thus  con- 
stantly fixed  upon  a mind  of  the  third  order, 
are  the  staple  of  the  population  of  the  United 
States,  in  the  small  towns  and  country  districts 
above  alljl  Yet  our  Boston  friend  asks  us  to 
believe,  that  a population  of  which  this  is  the 
staple  can  furnish  what  we  cannot  furnish,  cer- 
tainly, in  England,  and  what  no  country  that  I 
know  of  can  at  present  furnish,  — a group,  in 
every  small  town  throughout  the  land,  of  people 
of  good  taste,  good  manners,  good  education, 
peers  of  any  people  in  the  world,  reading  the 


88 


A Word  about  America. 


best  books,  interpreting  the  best  music,  and 
interested  in  themes  world-wide  1 Individuals 
of  this  kind,  America  can  doubtless  furnish, 
peers  of  any  people  in  the  world ; and  in  every 
town,  groups  of  people  with  excellent  qualities, 
like  the  representatives  of  middle-class  industry 
and  virtue  among  ourselvesf  And  a country 
capable  of  furnishing  such  groups  will  be  strong 
and  prosperous,  and  has  much  to  be  thankful 
for ; but  it  must  not  take  these  groups  for  what 
they  are  not,  or  imagine  that  having  produced 
them  it  possesses  what  it  does  not  possess,  or 
has  provided  for  wants  which  are  in  fact  still 
unprovided  for| 

“ The  arts  have  no  chance  in  poor  countries,” 
says  Mr.  Lowell|  “ From  sturdy  father  to 
sturdy  son,  we  have  been  making  this  continent 
habitable  for  the  weaker  Old  World  breed  that 
has  swarmed  to  it,  during  the  last  half-century|f’ 
This  may  be  quite  true,  and  the  achievements 
wrought  in  America  by  the  middle-class  indus- 
try, the  middle-class  energy  and  courage,  the 
middle-class  religion  of  our  English  race,  may 
be  full  as  much  as  we  have  any  right  to  expect 
up  to  the  present  time,  and  only  a people  of 
great  qualities  could  have  produced  them!  But 
this  is  not  the  questionl  The  question  is  as  to 
the  establishment  in  America,  on  any  consider- 


A Word  about  America. 


89 


able  scale,  of  a type  of  civilization  combining  all 
those  powers  which  go  to  the  building  up  of  a 
truly  human  life  — the  power  of  intellect  and 
knowledge,  the  power  of  beauty,  the  power  of 
social  life  and  manners,  as  well  as  the  great 
power  of  conduct  and  religion,  and  the  indis- 
pensable power  of  expansion!  “ Is  it  not  the 
highest  act  of  a republic,”  asks  Mr.  Lowell,  “ to 
make  men  of  flesh  and  blood,  and  not  the 
marble  ideals  of  suchf”  Let  us  grant  it| 
“ Perhaps  it  is  the  collective,  not  the  individual 
humanity,”  Mr.  Lowell  goes  on,  “that  is  to 
have  a chance  of  nobler  development  among 
us4’  Most  true,  the  well-being  of  the  many, 
and  not  of  individuals  and  classes  solely,  comes 
out  more  and  more  distinctly  to  us  all  as  the 
object  which  we  must  pursue|  Many  are  to  be 
made  partakers  of  well-being,  of  civilization  and 
humanization  ; we  must  not  forget  it,  and 
America,  happily,  is  not  likely  to  let  us  forget 
it|  But  the  ideal  of  well-being,  of  civilization, 
of  humanization,  is  not  to  be,  on  that  account 
lowered  and  coarsened! 

Now  the  New  York  Nation  — a newspaper 
which  I read  regularly  and  with  profit,  a news- 
paper which  is  the  best,  so  far  as  my  experience 
goes,  of  all  American  newspapers,  and  one  of  the 
best  newspapers  anywhere — the  New  York 


90 


A Word  about  America. 


Nation  had  the  other  day  some  remarks  on  the 
higher  sort  of  education  in  America,  and  the 
utility  of  it,  which  were  very  curious  : — 

In  America  (says  the  Nation)  scarcely  any  man  who 
can  afford  it  likes  to  refuse  his  son  a college  education 
if  the  boy  wants  it ; but  probably  not  one  boy  in  one 
thousand  can  say,  five  years  after  graduating,  that  he  has 
been  helped  by  his  college  education  in  making  his  start 
in  lifej  It  may  have  been  never  so  useful  to  him  as  a 
means  of  moral  and  intellectual  culture,  but  it  has  not 
helped  to  adapt  him  to  the  environment  in  which  he  has 
to  live  and  work  ; or,  in  other  words,  to  a world  in  which 
not  one  man  in  a hundred  thousand  has  either  the  man- 
ners or  cultivation  of  a gentleman,  or  changes  his  shirt 
more  than  once  a week,  or  eats  with  a forkj 

Now  upon  this  remarkable  declaration  many 
comments  might  be  made,  but  I am  going  now 
to  make  one  comment  only|  Is  it  credible,  if 
there  were  established  in  almost  every  town  of 
the  great  majority  of  the  United  States  a type 
of  “ elegant  and  simple  social  order,”  a “ group 
of  people  of  good  taste,  good  manners,  reading 
the  best  books,  interpreting  the  best  music, 
interested  in  themes  world-wide,  the  peers  of 
any  people  in  the  world,”  is  it  credible,  with  the 
instinct  of  self-preservation  which  there  is  in 
humanity,  and  choice  things  being  so  naturally 
attractive  as  they  undoubtedly  are,  — is  it  credi- 


A Word  about  America. 


9i 


ble,  that  all  this  excellent  leaven  should  pro- 
duce so  little  result,  that  these  groups  should 
remain  so  impotent  and  isolated,  that  their 
environment,  in  a country  where  our  poverty  is 
unknown,  should  be  “ a world  in  which  not  one 
man  in  a hundred  thousand  has  either  the  man- 
ners or  cultivation  of  a gentleman,  or  changes 
his  shirt  more  than  once  a week,  or  eats  with 
a fork  | ” It  is  not  credible ; to  me,  at  any 
rate,  it  is  not  credible!  And  I feel  more  sure 
than  ever,  that  our  Boston  informant  has  told 
us  of  groups  where  he  ought  to  have  told  us  of 
individuals  ; and  that  many  of  his  individuals, 
even,  have  “hopped  over,”  as  he  wittily  says, 
to  Europe| 

Mr.  Lowell  himself  describes  his  own  nation 
as  “the  most  common-schooled  and  the  least 
cultivated  people  in  the  world|”  They  strike 
foreigners  in  the  same  way.  M.  Renan  says 
that  the  “ United  States  have  created  a con- 
siderable popular  instruction  without  any  seri- 
ous higher  instruction,  and  will  long  have  to 
expiate  this  fault  by  their  intellectual  medioc- 
rity, their  vulgarity  of  manners,  their  superfi- 
cial spirit,  their  lack  of  general  intelligence!” 
Another  acute  French  critic  speaks  of  a “hard 
unintelligence  ” as  characteristic  of  the  people 
of  the  United  States  — la  dure  inintelligence 


92  A Word  about  America. 

des  Amtricains  du  Nord\  Smart  they  are,  as 
all  the  world  knows ; but  then  smartness  is  un- 
happily quite  compatible  with  a “ hard  unintelli- 
gence|”  The  Quinionian  humour  of  Mr.  Mark 
Twain,  so  attractive  to  the  Philistine  of  the 
more  gay  and  light  type  both  here  and  in 
America,  another  French  critic  fixes  upon  as 
literature  exactly  expressing  a people  of  this 
type,  and  of  no  higherf  “ In  spite  of  all  its 
primary  education,”  he  says,  “ America  is  still, 
from  an  intellectual  point  of  view,  a very  rude 
and  primitive  soil,  only  to  be  cultivated  by 
violent  methods^  These  childish  and  half-sav- 
age minds  are  not  moved  except  by  very  ele- 
mentary narratives  composed  without  art,  in 
which  burlesque  and  melodrama,  vulgarity  and 
eccentricity,  are  combined  in  strong  dosesK’ 
It  may  be  said  that  Frenchmen,  the  present 
generation  of  Frenchmen  at  any  rate,  them- 
selves take  seriously,  as  of  the  family  of 
Shakespeare,  Moli^re,  and  Goethe,  an  author 
half  genius,  half  charlatan,  like  M.  Victor  Hugo^ 
They  do  so  ; but  still  they  may  judge,  soundly 
and  correctly  enough,  another  nation’s  false 
literature  which  does  not  appeal  to  their  weak- 
nesses! I am  not  blaming  America  for  falling 
a victim  to  Qiiinioiv  or  to  Murdstone  eithei| 
We  fall  a victim  to  Murdstone  and  Quinion  our 


A Word  about  America. 


93 


selves,  as  I very  well  know,  and  the  Americans 
are  just  the  same  people  that  we  are|  But  I 
want  to  deliver  England  from  Murdstone  and 
Quinion,  and  I look  round  me  for  help  in  the 
good  work|  And  when  the  Boston  newspaper 
told  me  of  the  elegant  and  simple  social  order, 
and  the  group  of  people  in  every  town  of  the 
Union  with  good  taste  and  good  manners,  read- 
ing the  best  books  and  interpreting  the  best 
music,  I thought  at  first  that  I_  had  surely 
found  what  I wanted,  and  that  Ushould  be  able 
to  invade  the  English  realm  of  Murdstone  and 
Quinion  with  the  support  of  an  overpowering 
body  of  allies  from  AmericaJ  But  now  it 
seems  doubtful  whether  America  is  not  suffer- 
ing from  the  predominance  of  Murdstone  and 
Quinion  herself — of  Quinion  at  any  rat  el 
Yes,  and  of  Murdstone  too|  Miss  Bird,  the 
best  of  travellers,  and  with  the  skill  to  relate 
her  travels  delightfully,  met  the  rudimentary 
American  type  of  Murdstone  not  far  from  Den- 
ver, and  has  described  him  for  us|  Denver — I 
hear  some  one  say  scornfully — Denver  1 A 
new  territory,  the  outskirts  of  civilization,  the 
Rocky  Mountains  | But  I prefer  to  follow  a 
course  which  would,  I know,  deliver  me  over  a 
prey  into  the  Americans’  hands,  if  I were  really 
holding  a controversy  with  them  and  attacking 


94 


A Word  about  America. 


their  civilization^  I am  not  holding  a contro- 
versy with  them|  I am  not  attacking  their 
civilization!  I am  much  disquieted  about  the 
state  of  our  own|.  But  I am  holding  a friendly 
conversation  with  American  lovers  of  the  hu- 
mane life,  who  offer  me  hopes  of  improving 
British  civilization  by  the  example  of  a great 
force  of  true  civilization,  of  elegant  and  simple 
social  order,  developed  in  the  northern,  middle, 
and  southwestern  states  of  the  Union|  I am 
not  going  to  pick  holes  in  the  civilization  of 
those  well-established  StatesJ  But  in  a new 
territory,  on  the  outskirts  of  the  Union,  I take 
an  example  of  a spirit  which  we  know  well 
enough  in  the  old  country,  and  which  has  done 
much  harm  to  our  civilization ; and  I ask  my 
American  friends  how  much  way  this  spirit  — 
since  on  their  borders,  at  any  rate,  they  seem 
to  have  it  — has  made  and  is  even  now  making 
amongst  themselves  ; whether  they  feel  sure  of 
getting  it  under  control,  and  that  the  elegant 
and  simple  social  order  in  the  older  states  will 
be  too  strong  for  it ; or  whether,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  may  be  too  strong  for  the  elegant  and 
simple  social  order| 

Miss  Bird  then  describes  the  Chalmers  fam- 
ily, a family  with  which,  on  her  journey  from 
Denver  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  she  lodged  for 


A Word  about  America. 


95 


some  timej  Miss  Bird,  as  those  who  have  , read 
her  books  well  know,  is  not  a lackadaisical  per- 
son, or  in  any  way  a fine  lady ; she  can  ride, 
catch,  and  saddle  a horse,  “ make  herself  agree- 
able,” wash  up  plates,  improvise  lamps,  teach 
knitting!  But  — 

Oh  (she  says),  what  a hard,  narrow  life  it  is  with  which 
I am  now  in  contact  | A narrow  and  unattractive  relig- 
ion, which  I believe  still  to  be  genuine,  and  an  intense 
but  narrow  patriotism,  are  the  only  higher  influences) 
Chalmers  came  from  Illinois  nine  years  ago|  He  is 
slightly  intelligent,  very  opinionated,  and  wishes  to  be 
thought  well-informed,  which  he  is  not|  He  belongs  to 
the  strictest  sect  of  Reformed  Presbyterians  ; his  great 
boast  is  that  his  ancestors  were  Scottish  Covenanter^ 
He  considers  himself  a profound  theologian,  and  by  the 
pine  logs  at  night  discourses  to  me  on  the  mysteries  of 
the  eternal  counsels  and  the  divine  decreesj  Colorado, 
with  its  progress  and  its  future,  is  also  a constant  theme| 
He  hates  England  with  a bitter  personal  hatred|  He 
trusts  to  live  to  see  the  downfall  of  the  British  monarchy 
and  the  disintegration  of  the  empire|  He  is  very  fond  of 
talking,  and  asks  me  a great  deal  about  my  travels,  but  if 
I speak  favorably  of  the  climate  or  resources  of  any  other 
country,  he  regards  it  as  a slur  on  Coloradof 

Mrs.  Chalmers  looks  like  one  of  the  English  poor 
women  of  our  childhood  — lean,  clean,  toothless,  and 
speaks,  like  some  of  them,  in  a piping,  discontented  voice, 
which  seems  to  convey  a personal  reproach  j She  is  never 
idle  for  one  moment,  is  severe  and  hard,  and  despises 
everything  but  work|  She  always  speaks  of  me  as  this 
or  that  woman f The  family  consists  of  a grown-up  son, 


96 


A Word  about  America. 


a shiftless,  melancholy-looking  youth,  who  possibly  pines 
for  a wider  life  ; a girl  of  sixteen,  a sour,  repellant-looking 
creature,  with  as  much  manners  as  a pig ; and  three 
hard,  unchildlike  younger  children)  By  the  whole  family 
all  courtesy  and  gentleness  of  act  or  speech  seem  regarded 
as  works  of  the  flesh , if  not  of  the  devil ) They  knock 
over  all  one’s  things  without  apologizing  or  picking  them 
up,  and  when  I thank  them  for  anything  they  look  grimly 
amazed)  I wish  I could  show  them  “ a more  excellent 
way|’  This  hard  greed,  and  the  exclusive  pursuit  of 
gain,  with  the  indifference  to  all  which  does  not  aid  in  its 
acquisition,  are  eating  up  family  love  and  life  throughout 
the  West|  I write  this  reluctantly,  and  after  a total  expe- 
rience of  nearly  two  years  in  the  United  StatesJ  Mrs. 
Chalmers  is  cleanly  in  her  person  and  dress,  and  the  food, 
though  poor,  is  clean|  Work,  work,  work,  is  their  day 
and  their  life)  They  are  thoroughly  uncongenial)  There 
is  a married  daughter  across  the  river,  just  the  same  hard, 
loveless,  moral,  hard-working  being  as  her  mother^  Each 
morning,  soon  after  seven,  when  I have  swept  the  cabin, 
the  family  come  in  for  “ worship)’  Chalmers  wails  a 
psalm  to  the  most  doleful  of  dismal  tunes  ; they  read  a 
chapter  round,  and  he  prays|  Sunday  was  a dreadful  day) 
The  family  kept  the  commandment  literally,  and  did  no 
work|  Worship  was  conducted  twice,  and  was  rather 
longer  than  usual)  The  man  attempted  to  read  a well- 
worn  copy  of  Boston's  Fourfold  State,  but  shortly  fell 
asleep,  and  they  only  woke  up  for  their  meals|  It  was  an 
awful  day,  and  seemed  as  if  it  would  never  come  to  an 
end)  You  will  now  have  some  idea  of  my  surroundings) 
It  is  a moral,  hard,  unloving,  unlovely,  unrelieved,  un- 
beautified, grinding  life|  These  people  live  in  a discom- 
fort and  lack  of  ease  and  refinement  which  seem  only 
possible  to  people  of  British  stock) 


A Word  about  America. 


97 


What  is  this  but  the  hideousness,  the  immense 
ennui,  of  the  life  on  which  we  have  touched  so 
often,  the  life  of  our  serious  British  Philistine, 
our  Murdstone  ; that  life  with  its  defective  type 
of  religion,  its  narrow  range  of  intellect  and 
knowledge,  its  stunted  sense  of  beauty,  its  low 
standard  of  manners  ) Only  it  is  this  life  at  its 
simplest,  rudimentary  stage| 

I have  purposely  taken  the  picture  of  it  from 
a region  outside  the  settled  states  of  the  Union, 
that  it  might  be  evident  I was  not  meaning  to 
describe  American  civilization,  and  that  Ameri- 
cans might  at  once  be  able  to  say,  with  perfect 
truth,  that  American  civilization  is  something 
totally  different!  And  if,  to  match  this  picture 
of  our  Murdstone  in  other  lands  and  other  cir- 
cumstances, we  are  to  have  — as,  for  the  sake 
of  clearness  in  our  impressions,  we  ought  to 
have  — a picture  of  our  Quinion  too,  under  like 
conditions,  let  us  take  it,  not  from  America  at 
all,  but  from  our  own  Australian  colonies|  The 
special  correspondent  of  the  Bathurst  Sentinel 
criticises  an  Italian  singer  who,  at  the  Sydney 
Theatre,  plays  the  Count  in  the  Somnambula  ; 
and  here  is  the  criticism  % “ Barring  his  stom- 
ach, he  is  the  finest-looking  artist  I have  seen 
on  the  stage  for  years  ; and  if  he  don’t  slide 
into  the  affections  or  break  the  gizzards  of  half 


98  A Word  about  America. 

our  Sydney  girls,  it’s  a pretty  certain  sign  there’s 
a scarcity  of  balm  in  Gileadf’  This  is  not  Mark 
Twain,  not  an  American  humorist  at  all ; it  is 
the  Bathurst  Sentinel\ 

So  I have  gone  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  for 
the  New  World  Murdstone,  and  to  Australia  for 
the  New  World  QuinionJ  I have  not  assailed 
in  the  least  the  civilization  of  America  in  those 
northern,  middle,  and  southwestern  states,  to 
which  Americans  have  a right  to  refer  us  when 
we  seek  to  know  their  civilization,  and  to  which 
they,  in  fact,  do  refer  usl  What  I wish  to  say 
is,  and  I by  no  means  even  put  it  in  the  form  of 
an  assertion  — I put  it  in  the  form  9!  a question 
only,  a question  to  my  friends  in  America  who 
are  believers  in  equality  and  lovers  of  the  hu- 
mane life  as  I also  am,  and  who  ask  me  why  I 
do  not  illustrate  my  praise  of  equality  by  refer- 
ence to  the  humane  life  of  America  — what  I 
wish  to  say  is : How  much  does  the  influence 
of  these  two  elements,  natural  products  of  our 
race, \Murdstone  and  Ouinion,  the  bitter,  serious 
Philistine  and  the  rowdy  Philistinepenter  into 
American  life  and  lower  it  f I will  not  pro- 
nounce on  the  matter  myself  ; I have  not  the 
requisite  knowledgel  But  all  that  we  hear  from 
America  — hear  from  Americans  themselves  — 
points,  so  far  as  I can  see,  to  a great  presence 


A Word  about  America.  99 

and  power  of  these  middle-class  misgrowths 
there  as  here|  We  have  not  succeeded  in 
counteracting  them  here,  and  while  our  states- 
men and  leaders  proceed  as  they  do  now,  and 
Lord  Frederick  Cavendish  congratulates  the 
middle  class  on  its  energy  and  self-reliance  in 
doing  without  public  schools,  and  Lord  Salis- 
bury summons  the  middle  class  to  a great  and 
final  stand  on  behalf  of  supernaturalism,  we 
never  shall  succeed  in  counteracting  them|  We 
are  told,  however,  of  groups  of  children  of  light 
in  every  town  of  America,  and  an  elegant  social 
order  prevailing  there,  which  make  one,  at  first, 
very  enviousl  But  soon  one  begins  to  think,  I 
say,  that  surely  there  must  be  some  mistakel 
The  complaints  one  hears  of  the  state  of  public 
life  in  America,  of  the  increasing  impossibility 
and  intolerableness  of  it  to  self-respecting  men, 
of  the  “ corruption  and  feebleness,”  of  the  bla- 
tant violence  and  exaggeration  of  language,  the 
profligacy  of  clap-trap  — the  complaints  we  hear 
from  America  of  all  this,  and  then  such  an 
exhibition  as  we  had  in  the  Guiteau  trial  the 
other  day,  lead  one  to  think  that  Murdstone 
and  Quinion,  those  misgrowths  of  the  English 
middle-class  spirit,  must  be  even  more  rampant 
in  the  United  States  than  they  are  here!  Mr. 
Lowell  himself  writes,  in  that  very  same  essay 


IOO 


A Word  about  America. 


in  which  he  is  somewhat  sharp  upon  foreigners, 
he  writes  of  the  sad  experience  in  America  of 
“government  by  declamation!’  And  this  very 
week,  as  if  to  illustrate  his  words,  we  have  the 
American  newspapers  raising  “ a loud  and  per- 
emptory voice  ” against  the  “ gross  outrage  on 
America,  insulted  in  the  persons  of  Americans 
imprisoned  in  British  dungeons  ” ; we  have  them 
crying  : “The  people  demand  their  release,  and 
they  must  be  released ; woe  to  the  public  men 
or  the  party  that  stand  in  the  way  of  this  act  of 
justice|”  We  have  them  turning  upon  Mr. 
Lowell  himself  in  such  style  as  the  following  j| 
“ This  Lowell  is  a fraud,  and  a disgrace  to  the 
American  nation  ; Minister  Lowell  has  scoffed 
at  his  own  country,  and  disowned  everything  in 
its  history  and  institutions  that  makes  it  free 
and  great/T 

I should  say,  for  my  part,  though  I have  not, 
I fully  own,  the  means  for  judging  accurately, 
that  all  this  points  to  an  American  development 
of  our  Murdstone  and  Quinion,  the  bitter  Phil- 
istine and  the  rowdy  Philistine,  exhibiting 
themselves  in  conjunction,  exhibiting  themselves 
with  great  luxuriance  and  with  very  little  checllj 
As  I write  from  Grub  Street,  I will  add  that,  to 
my  mind,  the  condition  of  the  copyright  ques- 
tion between  us  and  America  appears  to  point 


A Word  about  America. 


IOI 


to  just  the  same  thingy  The  American  refusal 
of  copyright  to  us  poor  English  souls  is  just 
the  proceeding  which  would  naturally  commend 
itself  to  Murdstone  and  Ouinion  ; and  the  way 
in  which  Mr.  Conant  justifies  and  applauds  the 
proceeding,  and  continues  to  justify  and  applaud 
it,  in  disregard  of  all  that  one  may  say,  and 
boldly  turns  the  tables  upon  England,  is  just  the 
way  in  which  Murdstone  and  Ouinion,  after  re- 
gulating copyright  in  the  American  fashion, 
would  wish  and  expect  to  be  backed  up.H  In 
Mr.  Conant  they  have  a treasure  : illi  robur  et 
(bs  ti’iplex,  indeed|  And  no  doubt  a few  Ameri- 
cans, highly  civilized  individuals,  “ hopping 
backwards  and  forwards  over  the  Atlantic,” 
much  disapprove  of  these  words  and  works  of 
Mr.  Conant  and  his  constituents^  But  can  there 
be  constant  groups  of  children  of  light,  joined 
in  an  elegant  order,  everywhere  throughout  the 
Union  | for,  if  there  were,  would  not  their  sense 
of  equity,  and  their  sense  of  delicacy,  and  even 
their  sense  of  the  ridiculous,  be  too  strong,  even 
in  this  very  matter  of  copyright,  for  Mr.  Conant 
and  his  constituents! 

But  on  the  creation  and  propagation  of  such 
groups'  the  civilized  life  of  America  depends  for 
its  future,  as  the  civilized  life  of  our  own  coun- 
try, too,  depends  for  its  future  upon  the  same 


102 


A Word  about  America. 


thing; — so  much  is  certainj  And  if  America 
succeeds  in  creating  and  installing  hers,  before 
we  succeed  in  creating  and  installing  ours,  then 
they  will  send  over  help  to  us  from  America, 
and  will  powerfully  influence  us  for  our  good| 
Let  us  see,  then,  how  we  both  of  us  stand  at 
the  present  moment,  and  what  advantages  the 
one  of  us  has  which  are  wanting  to  the  otherg 
We  in  England  have  liberty  and  industry  and 
the  sense  for  conduct,  and  a splendid  aristocracy 
which  feels  the  need  for  beauty  and  manners, 
and  a unique  class,  as  Mr.  Charles  Sumner 
pointed  out,  of  gentlemen,  not  of  the  landed 
class  or  of  the  nobility,  but  cultivated  and  re- 
fined|  America  has  not  our  splendid  aristocracy, 
but  then  this  splendid  aristocracy  is  material- 
ized, and  for  helping  the  sense  for  beauty,  or 
the  sense  for  social  life  and  manners,  in  the  na- 
tion at  large,  it  does  nothing  or  next  to  nothing 
So  we  must  not  hastily  pronounce,  with  Mr. 
Hussey  Vivian,  that  American  civilization  suf- 
fers by  its  absencej  Indeed  they  are  themselves 
developing,  it  is  said,  a class  of  very  rich  people 
quite  sufficiently  materialized^  America  has 
not  our  large  and  unique  class  of  gentlemen  ; 
something  of  it  they  have,  of  course,  but  it  is 
not  by  any  manner  of  means  on  the  same  scale 
there  as  here|  Acting  by  itself,  and  untram- 


A Word  about  America.  103 

melled,  our  English  class  of  gentlemen  has 
eminent  merits  ; our  rule  in  India,  of  which  we 
may  well  be  proud,  is  in  great  measure  its  work| 
But  in  presence  of  a great  force  of  Barbarian 
power,  as  in  this  country,  or  in  presence  of  a 
great  force  of  Philistinism,  our  class  of  gentle- 
men, as  we  know,  has  not  much  faith  and  ar- 
dor, is  somewhat  bounded  and  ineffective,  is 
not  much  of  a civilized  force  for  the  nation  at 
large  ; not  much  more,  perhaps,  than  the  few 
“ rather  civilized  individuals  ” in  America,  who, 
according  to  our  Boston  informant,  go  “ hopping 
backwards  and  forwards  over  the  Atlantic|’ 
Perhaps  America,  with  her  needs,  has  no  very 
great  loss  in  not  having  our  special  class  of 
gentlemen|  Without  this  class,  and  without  the 
pressure  and  false  ideal  of  our  Barbarians,  the 
Americans  have,  like  ourselves,  the  sense  for 
conduct  and  religion  ; they  have  industry,  and 
they  have  liberty ; they  have,  too,  over  and 
above  what  we  have,  they  have  an  excellent 
thing  — equality^  But  we  have  seen  reason  for 
thinking,  that  as  we  in  England,  with  our  aris- 
tocracy, gentlemen,  liberty,  industry,  religion, 
and  sense  for  conduct,  have  the  civilization  of 
the  most  important  part  of  our  people,  the  im- 
mense middle  class,  impaired  by  a defective  type 
of  religion,  a narrow  range  of  intellect  and 


104  A Word  about  America. 

knowledge,  a stunted  sense  of  beauty,  a low 
standard  of  manners  ; so  in  America,  too,  where 
this  class  is  yet  more  important  and  all-pervad- 
ing than  it  is  here,  civilization  suffers  in  the  like 
wayj  With  a people  of  our  stock  it  could  not, 
indeed,  well  be  otherwise,  so  long  as  this  people 
can  be  truly  described  as  “ the  most  common- 
schooled  and  least  cultivated  people  in  the 
world|” 

The  real  cultivation  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  as  of  the  English  middle  class, 
has  been  in  and  by  its  religion,  its  “ one  thing 
needful|”  But  the  insufficiency  of  this  religion 
is  now  every  day  becoming  more  manifest|  It 
deals,  indeed,  with  personages  and  words  which 
have  an  indestructible  and  inexhaustible  truth 
and  salutariness  ; but  it  is  rooted  and  grounded 
in  preternaturalism,  it  can  receive  those  person- 
ages and  those  words  only  on  conditions  of  pre- 
ternaturalism, and  a religion  of  preternaturalism 
is  doomed  — whether  with  or  without  the  battle 
of  Armageddon  for  which  Lord  Salisbury  is  pre- 
paring— to  inevitable  dissolution^  Fidelity  to 
conscience ! cries  the  popular  Protestanism  of 
Great  Britain  and  America,  and  thinks  that  it 
has  said  enoughj  But  the  modern  analysis  re- 
lentlessly scrutinizes  this  conscience,  and  com- 
pels it  to  give  an  account  of  itselff  What  sort 


A Word  about  America.  105 

of  a conscience  ? a true  conscience  or  a false 
one  | “ Conscience  is  the  most  changing  of 

rules  ; conscience  is  presumptuous  in  the  strong, 
timid  in  the  weak  and  unhappy,  wavering  in  the 
undecided ; obedient  organ  of  the  sentiment 
which  sways  us  and  of  the  opinions  which  gov- 
ern us  ; more  misleading  than  reason  and  na- 
ture.f  So  says  one  of  the  noblest  and  purest  of 
moralists,  Vauvenargues  ; and  terrible  as  it  may 
be  to  the  popular  Protestanism  of  England  and 
of  America  to  hear  it,  Vauvenargues  thus  de- 
scribes with  perfect  truth  that  conscience  to 
which  popular  Protestanism  appeals  as  its  sup- 
posed unshakable  ground  of  reliancel 

And  now,  having  up  to  this  point  neglected 
all  the  arts  of  the  controversialist,  having  merely 
made  inquiries  of  my  American  friends  as  to 
the  real  state  of  their  civilization,  inquiries 
which  they  are  free  to  answer  in  their  own 
favor  if  they  like,  I am  going  to  leave  the  ad- 
vantage with  them  to  the  end|  They  kindly  of- 
fered me  the  example  of  their  civilization  as  a 
help  to  mend  ours  ; and  I,  not  with  any  vain 
Anglicism,  for  I own  our  insular  civilization  to 
be  very  unsatisfactory,  but  from  a desire  to  get 
at  the  truth  and  not  to  deceive  myself  with 
hopes  of  help  from  a quarter  where  at  present 
there  is  none  to  be  found,  have  inquired  whether 


io 6 A Word  about  America. 

the  Americans  really  think,  on  looking  into  the 
matter,  that  their  civilization  is  much  more  sat- 
isfactory than  ours)  And  in  case  they  should 
come  to  the  conclusion,  after  due  thought,  that 
neither  the  one  civilization  nor  the  other  is  in  a 
satisfactory  state,  let  me  end  by  propounding  a 
remedy  which  really  it  is  heroic  in  me  to  pro- 
pound, for  people  are  bored  to  death,  they  say, 
by  me  with  it,  and  every  time  I mention  it  I 
make  new  enemies  and  diminish  the  small  num- 
ber of  friends  that  I have  now)  Still,  I cannot 
help  asking  whether  the  defects  of  American 
civilization,  if  it  is  defective,  may  not  probably 
be  connected  with  the  American  people’s  being, 
as  Mr.  Lowell  says,  “ the  most  common-schooled 
and  the  least  cultivated  people  in  the  world/’ 
A higher,  larger  cultivation,  a finer  lucidity,  is 
what  is  needed|  The  friends  of  civilization,  in- 
stead of  hopping  backwards  and  forwards  over 
the  Atlantic,  should  stay  at  home  a while,  and 
do  their  best  to  make  the  administration,  the 
tribunals,  the  theatre,  the  arts,  in  each  state,  to 
make  them  become  visible  ideals  to  raise,  purge, 
and  ennoble  the  public  sentiment)  Though  they 
may  be  few  in  number,  the  friends  of  civiliza- 
tion will  find,  probably,  that  by  a serious  apos- 
tolate  of  this  kind  they  can  accomplish  a good 
deal|  But  the  really  fruitful  reform  to  be  looked 


A Word  about  America.  107 

for  in  America,  so  far  as  I can  judge,  is  the  very 
same  reform  which  is  so  urgently  required  here 
— a reform  of  secondary  instruction!  The  pri- 
mary and  common  schools  of  America  we  all 
know ; their  praise  is  in  every  one’s  mouth| 
About  superior  or  University  instruction  one 
need  not  be  uneasy,  it  excites  so  much  ambition, 
is  so  much  in  view,  and  is  required  by  compara- 
tively so  small  a number!  An  institution  like 
Harvard  is  probably  all  that  one  could  desire^ 
But  really  good  secondary  schools,  to  form  a due 
proportion  of  the  youth  of  America  from  the 
age  of  twelve  to  the  age  of  eighteen,  and  then 
every  year  to  throw  a supply  of  them,  thus 
formed,  into  circulation  — this  is  what  America, 
I believe,  wants,  as  we  also  want  it,  and  what 
she  possesses  no  more  than  we  doj  I know  she 
has  higher  schools,  I know  their  programme  : 
Latin,  Greek,  German,  French,  Surveying, 
Chemistry,  Astrology,  Natural  History,  Mental 
Philosophy,  Constitution,  Bookkeeping,  Trigono- 
metry, etc.  Alas,  to  quote  Vauvenargues  again: 
“ On  ne  corrigera  jamais  les  homines  d' apprendre 
des  choses  inutiles  But  good  secondary 
schools,  not  with  the  programme  of  our  classi- 
cal and  commercial  academies,  but  with  a seri- 
ous programme  — a programme  really  suited  to 
the  wants  and  capacities  of  those  who  are  to  be 


io8 


A Word  about  America. 


trained  — this,  I repeat,  is  what  American  civi- 
lization in  my  belief  most  requires,  as  it  is  what 
our  civilization,  too,  at  present  most  requires! 
The  special  present  defects  of  both  American 
civilization  and  ours  are  the  kind  of  defects  for 
which  this  is  a natural  remedyl  I commend  it 
to  the  attention  of  my  friendly  Boston  critic  in 
America ; and  some  months  hence,  perhaps, 
when  Mr.  Barnum  begins  to  require  less  space 
for  his  chronicles  of  Jumbo,  my  critic  will  tell 
me  what  he  thinks  of  it| 


A WORD  MORE  ABOUT  AMERICA. 


III. 


A WORD  MORE  ABOUT  AMERICA. 

When  I was  at  Chicago  last  year,  I was 
asked  whether  Lord  Coleridge  would  not  write 
a book  about  America.  I ventured  to  answer 
confidently  for  him  that  he  would  do  nothing  of 
the  kind|  Not  at  Chicago  only,  but  almost 
wherever  I went,  I was  asked  whether  I myself 
did  not  intend  to  write  a book  about  America| 
For  oneself  one  can  answer  yet  more  confi- 
dently than  for  one’s  friends,  and  I always 
replied  that  most  assuredly  I had  no  such 
intention!  To  write  a book  about  America,  on 
the  strength  of  having  made  merely  such  a 
tour  there  as  mine  was,  and  with  no  fuller 
equipment  of  preparatory  studies  and  of  local 
observations  than  I possess,  would  seem  to  me 
an  impertinence^ 

It  is  now  a long  while  since  I read  M.  de 
Tocqueville’s  famous  work  on  Democracy  in 
America!  I have  the  highest  respect  for  M.  de 
Tocqueville;  but  my  remembrance  of  his  book 
is  that  it  deals  too  much  in  abstractions  for  my 


in 


1 12 


A Word  More  about  America. 


taste,  and  that  it  is  written,  moreover,  in  a 
style  which  many  French  writers  adopt,  but 
which  I find  trying  — a style  cut  into  short  par- 
agraphs and  wearing  an  air  of  rigorous  scientific 
deduction  without  the  reality!  Very  likely, 
however,  I do  M.  de  Tocqueville  injustice!  My 
debility  in  high  speculation  is  well  known,  and 
I mean  to  attempt  his  book  on  Democracy 
again  when  I have  seen  America  once  more, 
and  when  years  may  have  brought  to  me,  per- 
haps, more  of  the  philosophic  mind!  Mean- 
while, however,  it  will  be  evident  how  serious  a 
matter  I think  it  to  write  a worthy  book  about 
the  United  States,  when  I am  not  entirely  sat- 
isfied with  even  M.  de  Tocqueville’s| 

But  before  I went  to  America,  and  when  I 
had  no  expectation  of  ever  going  there,  I pub- 
lished, under  the  title  of  “A  Word  about 
America,”  not  indeed  a book,  but  a few  modest 
remarks  on  what  I thought  civilization  in  the 
United  States  might  probably  be  like!  I had 
before  me  a Boston  newspaper  article,  which 
said  that  if  I ever  visited  America  I should  find 
there  such  and  such  things ; and  taking  this 
article  for  my  text  I observed  that  from  all  I 
had  read  and  all  I could  judge  I should  for  my 
part  expect  to  find  there  rather  such  and  such 
other  things,  which  I mentioned^  I said  that 


A Word  More  about  America.  113 

of  aristocrac)r,  as  vve  know  it  here,  I should 
expect  to  find,  of  course,  in  the  United  States 
the  total  absence ; that  our  lower  class  I should 
expect  to  find  absent  in  a great  degree,  while 
my  old  familiar  friend,  the  middle  class,  I should 
expect  to  find  in  full  possession  of  the  land| 
And  then  betaking  myself  to  those  playful 
phrases  which  a little  relieve,  perhaps,  the 
tedium  of  grave  disquisitions  of  this  sort,  I said 
that  I imagined  one  would  just  have  in  Amer- 
ica our  Philistines,  with  our  aristocracy  quite 
left  out,  and  our  populace  very  nearly! 

An  acute  and  singularly  candid  American, 
whose  name  I will  on  no  account  betray  to  his 
countrymen,  read  these  observations  of  mine, 
and  he  made  a remark  upon  them  to  me  which 
struck  me  a good  deal!  Yes,  he  said,  you  are 
right,  and  your  supposition  is  just!  In  general, 
what  you  would  find  over  there  would  be  the 
Philistines,  as  you  call  them,  without  your  aris- 
tocracy and  without  your  populace!  Only  this, 
too,  I say  at  the  same  time  : you  would  find 
over  there  something  besides,  something  more, 
something  which  you  do  not  bring  out,  which 
you  cannot  know  and  bring  out,  perhaps,  with- 
out actually  visiting  the  United  States,  but 
which  you  would  recognize  if  you  saw  it| 

My  friend  was  a true  prophet!  When  I saw 


1 14  A Word  More  about  America. 

the  United  States  I recognized  that  the  general 
account  which  I had  hazarded  of  them  was, 
indeed,  not  erroneous,  but  that  it  required  to 
have  something  added  to  supplement  it|  I 
should  not  like  either  my  friends  in  America  or 
my  countrymen  here  at  home  to  think  that  my 
“Word  about  America”  gave  my  full  and  final 
thoughts  respecting  the  people  of  the  United 
States|  The  new  and  modifying  impressions 
brought  by  experience  I shall  communicate,  as 
I did  my  original  expectations,  with  all  good 
faith,  and  as  simply  and  plainly  as  possible! 
Perhaps  when  I have  yet  again  visited  Amer- 
ica, have  seen  the  great  West,  and  have  had  a 
second  reading  of  M.  de  Tocqueville’s  classical 
work  on  Democracy,  my  mind  may  be  enlarged 
and  my  present  impressions  still  further  modi- 
fied by  new  ideas|  If  so,  I promise  to  make  my 
confession  duly  ; not  indeed  to  make  it,  even 
then,  in  a book  about  America,  but  to  make  it 
in  a brief  “ Last  Word  ” on  that  great  subject 
— a word,  like  its  predecessors,  of  open- 
hearted  and  free  conversation  with  the  leaders 
of  this  review! 

I suppose  I am  not  by  nature  disposed  to 
think  so  much  as  most  people  do  of  “ institu- 
tions!’ The  Americans  think  and  talk  very 


A Word  More  about  America.  1 1 5 

much  of  their  “ institutions  ; ” I am  by  nature 
inclined  to  call  all  this  sort  of  thing  machinery , 
and  to  regard,  rather,  men  and  their  characters! 
But  the  more  I saw  of  America,  the  more  I 
found  myself  led  to  treat  “ institutions  ” with 
increased  respect^  Until  I went  to  the  United 
States  I had  never  seen  a people  with  institu- 
tions which  seemed  expressly  and  thoroughly 
suited  to  itl  I had  not  properly  appreciated 
the  benefits  proceeding  from  this  cause! 

Sir  Henry  Maine,  in  an  admirable  essay 
which,  though  not  signed,  betrays  him  for  its 
author  by  its  rare  and  characteristic  qualities  of 
mind  and  style  — Sir  Henry  Maine,  in  the 
Quarterly  Review,  adopts  and  often  reiterates  a 
phrase  of  M.  Scherer,  to  the  effect  that  “ Democ- 
racy is  only  a form  of  government^’  He  holds 
up  to  ridicule  a sentence  of  Mr.  Bancroft’s 
History,  in  which  the  American  democracy  is 
told  that  its  ascent  to  power  “ proceeded  as 
uniformly  and  majestically  as  the  laws  of  being, 
and  was  as  certain  as  the  decrees  of  eter- 
nity!’ Let  us  be  willing  to  give  Sir  Henry 
Maine  his  way,  and  to  allow  no  magnificent 
claim  of  this  kind  on  behalf  of  the  American 
democracy!  Let  us  treat  as  not  more  solid  the 
assertion  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
that  “all  men  are  created  equal,  and  endowed 


1 1 6 A Word  More  about  America. 

by  their  Creator  with  certain  inalienable  rights, 
among  them  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of 
happiness.”  Let  us  concede  that  these  natural 
rights  are  a figment  ; that  chance  and  circum- 
stance, as  much  as  deliberate  foresight  and 
design,  have  brought  the  United  States  into 
their  present  condition;  that,  moreover,  the 
British  rule  which  they  threw  off  was  not  the 
rule  of  oppressors  and  tyrants  which  declaimers 
suppose,  and  that  the  merit  of  the  Americans 
was  not  that  of  oppressed  men  rising  against 
tyrants,  but  rather  of  sensible  young  people 
getting  rid  of  stupid  and  overweening  guardians 
who  misunderstood  and  mismanaged  them. 

All  this  let  us  concede,  if  we  will ; but  in 
conceding  it  let  us  not  lose  sight  of  the  really 
important  point,  which  is  this  : that  their  insti- 
tutions do  in  fact  suit  the  people  of  the  United 
States  so  well,  and  that  from  this  suitableness 
they  do  derive  so  much  actual  benefit.  As  one 
watches  the  play  of  their  institutions,  the  image 
suggests  itself  to  one’s  mind  of  a man  in  a suit 
of  clothes  which  fits  him  to  perfection,  leaving 
all  his  movements  unimpeded  and  easy.  It  is 
loose  where  it  ought  to  be  loose,  and  it  sits 
close  where  its  sitting  close  is  an  advantage. 
The  central  government  of  the  United  States 
keeps  in  its  own  hands  the  functions  which,  if 


A Word  More  about  America.  1 1 7 

the  nation  is  to  have  real  unity,  ought  to  be 
kept  there ; those  functions  it  takes  to  itself, 
and  no  others.  The  state  governments  and  the 
municipal  governments  provide  people  with  the 
fullest  liberty  of  managing  their  own  affairs, 
and  afford,  besides,  a constant  and  invaluable 
school  of  practical  experience.  This  wonderful 
suit  of  clothes,  again  (to  recur  to  our  image), 
is  found  also  to  adapt  itself  naturally  to  the 
wearer’s  growth,  and  to  admit  of  all  enlarge- 
ments as  they  successively  arise.  I speak  of 
the  state  of  things  since  the  suppression  of 
slavery,  — of  the  state  of  things  which  meets  a 
spectator’s  eye  at  the  present  time  in  America. 
There  are  points  in  which  the  institutions  of 
the  United  States  may  call  forth  criticism. 
One  observer  may  think  that  it  would  be  well 
if  the  President’s  term  of  office  were  longer,  if 
his  ministers  sate  in  Congress,  or  must  possess 
the  confidence  of  Congress.  Another  observer 
may  say  that  the  marriage  laws  for  the  whole 
nation  ought  to  be  fixed  by  Congress,  and  not 
to  vary  at  the  will  of  the  legislatures  of  the 
several  States.  I myself  was  much  struck  with 
the  inconvenience  of  not  allowing  a man  to  sit 
in  Congress  except  for  his  own  district ; a man 
like  Wendell  Phillips  was  thus  excluded,  be- 
cause Boston  would  not  return  him.  It  is  as  if 


1 1 8 A Word  More  about  America. 

Mr.  Bright  could  have  no  other  constituency 
open  to  him  if  Rochdale  would  not  send  him  to 
Parliament!  But  all  these  are  really  questions 
of  machinery  (to  use  my  own  term),  and  ought 
not  so  to  engage  our  attention  as  to  prevent  our 
seeing  that  the  capital  fact  as  to  the  institutions 
of  the  United  States  is  this  : their  suitableness 
to  the  American  people,  and  their  natural  and 
easy  working!  If  we  are  not  to  be  allowed  to 
say,  with  Mr.  Beecher,  that  this  people  has  “a 
genius  for  the  organization  of  states,”  then  at 
all  events  we  must  admit  that  in  its  own  organ- 
ization it  has  enjoyed  the  most  signal  good 
fortune^ 

Yes ; what  is  called  in  the  jargon  of  the  pub- 
licists, the  political  problem  and  the  social 
problem,  the  people  of  the  United  States  does 
appear  to  me  to  have  solved,  or  Fortune  has 
solved  it  for  them,  with  undeniable  success! 
Against  invasion  and  conquest  from  without 
they  are  impregnably  strongl  As  to  domestic 
concerns,  the  first  thing  to  remember  is,  that 
the  people  over  there  is  at  bottom  the  same 
people  as  ourselves,  — a people  with  a strong 
sense  for  conduct!  But  there  is  said  to  be 
much  corruption  among  their  politicians,  and  in 
the  public  service,  in  municipal  administration, 
and  in  the  administration  of  justicel  Sir  Lepel 


( 


A Word  More  about  America.  1 19 

Griffin  would  lead  us  to  think  that  the  adminis- 
tration of  justice,  in  particular,  is  so  thoroughly 
corrupt,  that  a man  with  a lawsuit  has  only  to 
provide  his  lawyer  with  the  necessary  funds  for 
bribing  the  officials,  and  he  can  make  sure  of 
winning  his  suiti.  The  Americans  themselves 
use  such  strong  language  in  describing  the  cor- 
ruption prevalent  amongst  them,  that  they  can- 
not be  surprised  if  strangers  believe  them!  For 
myself,  I had  heard  and  read  so  much  to  the 
discredit  of  American  political  life,  how  all  the 
best  men  kept  aloof  from  it,  and  those  who 
gave  themselves  to  it  were  unworthy,  that  I 
ended  by  supposing  that  the  thing  must  actually 
be  so,  and  the  good  Americans  must  be  looked 
for  elsewhere  than  in  politics.!  Then  I had  the 
pleasure  of  dining  with  Mr.  Bancroft  in  Wash- 
ington ; and  however  he  may,  in  Sir  Henry 
Maine’s  opinion,  overlaud  the  pre-established 
harmony  of  American  democracy,  he  had  at  any 
rate  invited  to  meet  me  half  a dozen  politicians 
whom  in  England  we  should  pronounce  to  be 
members  of  Parliament  of  the  highest  class,  in 
bearing,  manners,  tone  of  feeling,  intelligence, 
information!  I discovered  that  in  truth  the 
practice,  so  common  in  America,  of  calling  a 
politician  “a  thief”  does  not  mean  so  very 
much  more  than  is  meant  in  England  when  we 


120 


A Word  More  about  America. 


have  heard  Lord  Beaconsfield  called  “ a liar,” 
and  Mr.  Gladstone,  “a  madmanj”  It  means, 
that  the  speaker  disagrees  with  the  politician  in 
question,  and  dislikes  himl  Not  that  I assent, 
on  the  other  hand,  to  the  thick-and-thin  Ameri- 
can patriots,  who  will  tell  you  that  there  is  no 
more  corruption  in  the  politics  and  administra- 
tion of  the  United  States  than  in  those  of 
Englandl  I believe  there  is  more,  and  that  the 
tone  of  both  is  lower  there ; and  this  from  a 
cause  on  which  I shall  have  to  touch  hereafterl 
But  the  corruption  is  exaggerated ; it  is  not  the 
wide  and  deep  disease  it  is  often  represented ; 
it  is  such  that  the  good  elements  in  the  nation 
may,  and  I believe  will,  perfectly  work  it  off ; 
and  even  now  the  truth  of  what  I have  been 
saying  as  to  the  suitableness  and  successful 
working  of  American  institutions  is  not  really 
in  the  least  affected  by  it| 

Furthermore,  American  society  is  not  in 
danger  from  revolution!  Here,  again,  I do  not 
mean  that  the  United  States  are  exempt  from 
the  operation  of  every  one  of  the  causes  — such 
a cause  as  the  division  between  rich  and  poor, 
for  instance  — which  may  lead  to  revolution^ 
But  I mean  that  comparatively  with  the  old 
countries  of  Europe  they  are  free  from  the  dan- 
ger of  revolution  ; and  I believe  that  the  good 


A Word  More  about  America. 


1 2 1 


elements  in  them  will  make  a way  for  them  to 
escape  out  of  what  they  really  have  of  this 
danger  also,  to  escape  in  the  future  as  well  as 
now  — the  future  for  which  some  observers 
announce  this  danger  as  so  certain  and  so  for- 
midable! Lord  Macaulay  predicted  that  the 
United  States  must  come  in  time  to  just  the 
same  state  of  things  which  we  witness  in  Eng- 
land ; that  the  cities  would  fill  up  and  the  lands 
become  occupied,  and  then,  he  said,  the  division 
between  rich  and  poor  would  establish  itself  on 
the  same  scale  as  with  us,  and  be  just  as  embar- 
rassing! He  forgot  that  the  United  States  are 
without  what  certainly  fixes  and  accentuates  the 
division  between  rich  and  poor,  — the  distinc- 
tion of  classes!  Not  only  have  they  not  the 
distinction  between  noble  and  bourgeois,  be- 
tweeen  aristocracy  and  middle  class  ; they  have 
not  even  the  distinction  between  bourgeois  and 
peasant  or  artisan,  between  middle  and  lower 
class!  They  have  nothing  to  create  it  and 
compel  their  recognition  of  itf  Their  domestic 
service  is  done  for  them  by  Irish,  Germans, 
Swedes,  negroes!  Outside  domestic  service, 
within  the  range  of  conditions  which  an  Amer- 
ican may,  in  fact,  be  called  upon  to  traverse,  he 
passes  easily  from  one  sort  of  occupation  to 
another,  from  poverty  to  riches,  and  from  riches 


122 


A Word  More  about  America. 


to  povertyl  No  one  of  his  possible  occupations 
appears  degrading  to  him  or  makes  him  lose 
caste ; and  poverty  itself  appears  to  him  as 
inconvenient  and  disagreeable  rather  than  as 
humiliatingl  When  the  immigrant  from  Europe 
strikes  root  in  his  new  home,  he  becomes  as  the 
American! 

It  may  be  said  that  the  Americans,  when 
they  attained  their  independence,  had  not  the 
elements  for  a division  into  classes,  and  that 
they  deserve  no  praise  for  not  having  invented 
onel  But  I am  not  now  contending  that  they 
deserve  praise  for  their  institutions,  I am  saying 
how  well  their  institutions  work!  Considering, 
indeed,  how  rife  are  distinctions  of  rank  and 
class  in  the  world,  how  prone  men  in  general 
are  to  adopt  them,  how  much  the  Americans 
themselves,  beyond  doubt,  are  capable  of  feel- 
ing their  attraction,  it  shows,  I think,  at  least 
strong  good  sense  in  the  Americans  to  have 
forborne  from  all  attempt  to  invent  them  at  the 
outset,  and  to  have  escaped  or  resisted  any 
fancy  for  inventing  them  since!  But  evidently 
the  United  States  constituted  themselves,  not 
amid  the  circumstances  of  a feudal  age,  but  in  a 
modern  age ; not  under  the  conditions  of  an 
epoch  favorable  to  subordination,  but  under 
those  of  an  epoch  of  expansion!  Their  institu- 


A Word  More  about  America.  123 

tions  did  but  comply  with  the  form  and  pressure 
of  the  circumstances  and  conditions  then  pres- 
ent! A feudal  age,  an  epoch  of  war,  defence, 
and  concentration,  needs  centres  of  power  and 
property,  and  it  reinforces  property  by  joining 
distinctions  of  rank  and  class  with  it|  Property 
becomes  more  honorable,  more  solid§  And  in 
feudal  ages  this  is  well,  for  its  changing  hands 
easily  would  be  a source  of  weaknessl  But  in 
ages  of  expansion,  where  men  are  bent  that 
every  one  shall  have  his  chance,  the  more 
readily  property  changes  hands  the  better^ 
The  envy  with  which  its  holder  is  regarded 
diminishes,  society  is  saferj  I think  whatever 
may  be  said  of  the  worship  of  the  almighty 
dollar  in  America,  it  is  indubitable  that  rich 
men  are  regarded  there  with  less  envy  and 
hatred  than  rich  men  are  in  Europe!  Why  is 
this  Ik  Because  their  condition  is  less  fixed, 
because  government  and  legislation  do  not  take 
them  more  seriously  than  other  people,  make 
grandees  of  them,  aid  them  to  found  families 
and  endurel  With  us,  the  chief  holders  of 
property  are  grandees  already,  and  every  rich 
man  aspires  to  become  a grandee  if  possible! 
And  therefore  an  English  country  gentleman 
regards  himself  as  part  of  the  system  of  nature  ; 
government  and  legislation  have  invited  him  so 


124  A Word  More  about  America. 

to  dol  If  the  price  of  wheat  falls  so  low  that 
his  means  of  expenditure  are  greatly  reduced, 
he  tells  you  that  if  this  lasts  he  cannot  possibly 
go  on  as  a country  gentleman  ; and  every  well- 
bred  person  amongst  us  looks  sympathizing  and 
shockedl  An  American  would  say,  “ Why 
should  he  | ” The  conservative  newspapers  are 
fond  of  giving  us,  as  an  argument  for  the  game 
laws,  the  plea  that  without  them  a country 
gentleman  could  not  be  induced  to  live  on  his 
estate!  An  American  would  say,  “ What  does 
it  matter  f ” Perhaps  to  an  English  ear  this 
will  sound  brutal  ; but  the  point  is  that  the 
American  does  not  take  his  rich  man  so  seri- 
ously as  we  do  ours,  does  not  make  him  into  a 
grandee  ; the  thing,  if  proposed  to  him,  would 
strike  him  as  an  absurdityl  I suspect  that  Mr. 
Winans  himself,  the  American  millionaire  who 
adds  deer-forest  to  deer-forest,  and  will  not 
suffer  a cottier  to  keep  a pet  lamb,  regards  his 
own  performance  as  a colossal  stroke  of  Ameri- 
can humor,  illustrating  the  absurdities  of  the 
British  system  of  property  and  privilegel  Ask 
Mr.  Winans  if  he  would  promote  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  British  game  laws  into  the  United 
States,  and  he  would  tell  you  with  a merry 
laugh  that  the  idea  is  ridiculous,  and  that  these 
British  follies  are  for  home  consumption! 


A Word  More  about  America.  125 

‘The  example  of  France  must  not  mislead  us| 
There  the  institutions,  an  objector  may  say,  are 
republican,  and  yet  the  division  and  hatred 
between  rich  and  poor  is  intense|  True ; but 
in  France,  though  the  institutions  may  be  re- 
publican, the  ideas  and  morals  are  not  republic 
can|  In  America  not  only  are  the  institutions 
republican,  but  the  ideas  and  morals  are  pre- 
vailingly republican  also!  They  are  those  of  a 
plain,  decent  middle  class!  The  ideal  of  those 
who  are  the  public  instructors  of  the  people  is. 
the  ideal  of  such  a classl  In  France  the  ideal 
of  the  mass  of  popular  journalists  and  popular 
writers  of  fiction,  who  are  now  practically  the 
public  instructors  there,  is,  if  you  could  see 
their  hearts,  a Pompadour  or  du  Barry  regime , 
with  themselves  for  the  part  of  Faublasl  With 
this  ideal  prevailing,  this  vision  of  the  objects 
for  which  wealth  is  desirable,  the  possessors  of 
wealth  become  hateful  to  the  multitude  which 
toils  and  endures,  and  society  is  undermined! 
This  is  one  of  the  many  inconveniences  which 
the  French  have  to  suffer  from  that  worship  of 
the  great  goddess  Lubricity  to  which  they  are 
at  present  vowed|  Wealth  excites  the  most 
savage  enmity  there,  because  it  is  conceived  as 
a means  for  gratifying  appetites  of  the  most 
selfish  and  vile  kindl  But  in  America,  Faublas 


120 


A Word  More  about  America. 


is  no  more  the  ideal  than  Coriolanusl  Wealth 
is  no  more  conceived  as  the  minister  to  the 
pleasures  of  a class  of  rakes,  than  as  the  minis- 
ter to  the  magnificence  of  a class  of  noblesl  J> 
is  conceived  as  a thing  which  almost  any 
American  may  attain,  and  which  almost  every 
American  will  use  respectablyl  Its  possession, 
therefore,  does  not  inspire  hatred,  and  so  I 
return  to  the  thesis  with  which  I started  — 
America  is  not  in  danger  of  revolution!  The 
division  between  rich  and  poor  is  alleged  to  us 
as  a cause  of  revolution  which  presently,  if  not 
now,  must  operate  there,  as  elsewhere ; and  yet 
we  see  that  this  cause, has  not  there,  in  truth, 
the  characters  to  which  we  are  elsewhere  accus- 
tomedl 

A people  homogeneous,  a people  which  had 
to  constitute  itself  in  a modern  age,  an  epoch  of 
expansion,  and  which  has  given  to  itself  institu- 
tions entirely  fitted  for  such  an  age  and  epoch, 
and  which  suit  it  perfectly  — a people  not  in 
danger  of  war  from  without,  not  in  danger  of 
revolution  from  within  — such  is  the  people  of 
the  United  States!  The  political  and  social 
problem,  then,  we  must  surely  allow  that  they 
solve  successfully!  There  remains,  I know,  the 
human  problem  also ; the  solution  of  that  too 
has  to  be  considered  ; but  I shall  come  to  that 


A Word  More  about  America.  12 7 

hereafterl  My  point  at  present  is,  that  politi- 
cally and  socially  the  United  States  are  a 
community  living  in  a natural  condition,  and 
conscious  of  living  in  a natural  condition!  And 
being  in  this  healthy  case,  and  having  this 
healthy  consciousness,  the  community  there 
nses  its  understanding  with  the  soundness  of 
health  ; it  in  general  sees  its  political  and  social  ^ 
concerns  straight,  and  sees  them  clearl  So 
that  when  Sir  Henry  Maine  and  M.  Scherer 
tells  us  that  democracy  is  “ merely  a form  of 
government,”  we  may  observe  to  them  that  it 
is  in  the  United  States  a form  of  government 
in  which  the  community  feels  itself  in  a natural 
condition  and  at  ease  ; in  which,  consequently, 
it  sees  things  straight  and  sees  them  clear|  A., 
More  than  half  one’s  interest  in  watching  the 
English  people  of  the  United  States  comes,  of 
course,  from  the  bearing  of  what  one  finds  there 
upon  things  at  home,  amongst  us  English 
people  ourselves  in  these  islandsl  I have 
frankly  recorded  what  struck  me  and  came  as 
most  new  to  me  in  the  condition  of  the  English 
race  in  the  United  States,  I had  said  before- 
hand, indeed,  that  I supposed  the  American 
Philistine  was  a livelier  sort  of  Philistine  than 
ours,  because  he  had  not  that  pressure  of  the 
Barbarians  to  stunt  and  distort  him  which  be- 


128 


A Word  More  about  America. 


falls  his  English  brother  here!  But  I did  not 
foresee  how  far  his  superior  liveliness  and  natu- 
ralness of  condition,  in  the  absence  of  that 
pressure,  would  carry  the  American  Philistine! 
I still  use  my  old  name  Philistine,  because  it 
does  in  fact  seem  to  me  as  yet  to  suit  the  bulk 
of  the  community  over  there,  as  it  suits  the 
strong  central  body  of  the  community  herd 
But  in  my  mouth  the  name  is  hardly  a reproach, 
so  clearly  do  I see  the  Philistine’s  necessity,  so 
willingly  I own  his  merits,  so  much  I find  of 
him  in  myself!  The  American  Philistine,  how- 
ever, is  certainly  far  more  different  from  his 
English  brother  than  I had  beforehand  sup- 
posed! And  on  that  difference  we  English  of 
the  old  country  may  with  great  profit  turn  our 
regards  for  a while,  and  I am  now  going  to  speak 
of  it| 

Surely,  if  there  is  one  thing  more  than  another 
which  all  the  world  is  saying  of  our  community 
at  present,  and  of  which  the  truth  cannot  well 
be  disputed,  it  is  this  : that  we  act  like  people 
who  do  not  think  straight  and  see  clearl  I 
know  that  the  Liberal  newspapers  used  to  be 
fond  of  saying  that  what  characterized  our 
middle  class  was  its  “ clear,  manly  intelligence, 
penetrating  through  sophisms,  ignoring  com- 
monplaces, and  giving  to  conventional  illu- 


129 


A Word  More  about  America. 

sions  their  true  valuef  ’ Many  years  ago  I took 
alarm  at  seeing  the  Daily  News  and  the  Morn- 
ing Star,  like  Zedekiah  the  son  of  Chenaanah, 
thus  making  horns  of  iron  for  the  middle  class 
and  bidding  it  “ Go  up  and  prosper  ! ” and  my 
first  efforts  as  a writer  on  public  matters  were 
prompted  by  a desire  to  utter,  like  Micaiah,  the 
son  of  Imlah,  my  protest  against  these  mislead- 
ing assurances  of  the  false  prophets!  And 
though  often  and  often  smitten  on  the  cheek, 
just  as  Micaiah  was,  still  I persevered  ; and  at 
the  Royal  Institution  I said  how  we  seemed  to 
flounder  and  to  beat  the  air,  and  at  Liverpool  I 
singled  out  as  our  chief  want  the  want  of  lucid- 
ity! But  now  everybody  is  really  saying  of  us 
the  same  thing : that  we  fumble  because  we 
cannot  make  up  our  mind,  and  that  we  cannot 
make  up  our  mind  because  we  do  not  know 
what  to  be  after!  If  our  foreign  policy  is  not 
that  of  “ the  British  Philistine,  with  his  likes 
and  dislikes,  his  effusion  and  confusion,  his  hot 
and  cold  fits,  his  want  of  dignity  and  of  the 
steadfastness  which  comes  from  dignity,  his 
want  of  ideas,  and  of  the  steadfastness  which 
comes  from  ideas,”  then  all  the  world  at  the 
present  time  is,  it  must  be  owned,  very  much 
mistaken! 

Let  us  not,  therefore,  speak  of  foreign  affairs ; 


130 


A Word  More  about  America. 


it  is  needless,  because  the  thing  I wish  to  show 
is  so  manifest  there  to  everybodyl  But  we  will 
consider  matters  at  homel  Let  us  take  the 
present  state  of  the  House  of  Commonsl  Can 
anything  be  more  confused,  more  unnatural  } 
That  assembly  has  got  into  a condition  utterly 
embarrassed,  and  seems  impotent  to  bring  itself 
right|  The  members  of  the  House  themselves 
may  find  entertainment  in  the  personal  inci- 
dents which  such  a state  of  confusion  is  sure 
to  bring  forth  abundantly,  and  excitement  in 
the  opportunities  thus  often  afforded  for  the 
display  of  Mr.  Gladstone’s  wonderful  powers^ 
But  to  any  judicious  Englishman  outside  the 
House  the  spectacle  is  simply  an  afflicting  and 
humiliating  one  ; the  sense  aroused  by  it  is  not 
a sense  of  delight  at  Mr.  Gladstone’s  tireless 
powers,  it  is  rather  a sense  of  disgust  at  their 
having  to  be  so  exercised^  Every  day  the 
House  of  Commons  does  not  sit,  judicious 
people  feel  relief ; every  day  that  it  sits,  they 
are  oppressed  with  apprehensionl  Instead  of 
being  an  edifying  influence,  as  such  an  assem- 
bly ought  to  be,  the  House  of  Commons  is  at 
present  an  influence  which  does  harm  ; it  sets 
an  example  which  rebukes  and  corrects  none  of 
the  nation’s  faults,  but  rather  encourages  them! 
The  best  thing  to  be  done  at  present,  perhaps, 


A Word  More  about  America.  131 

is  to  avert  one’s  eye  from  the  House  of  Com- 
mons as  much  as  possible  ; if  one  keeps  on  con- 
stantly watching  it  welter  in  its  baneful  confu- 
sion, one  is  likely  to  fall  into  the  fulminating 
style  of  the  wrathful  Hebrew  prophets,  and  to 
call  it  “ an  astonishment,  a hissing,  and  a 
cursej’ 

Well,  then,  our  greatest  institution,  the 
House  of  Commons,  we  cannot  say  is  at  pres- 
ent working,  like  the  American  institutions, 
easily  and  successfully!  Suppose  we  now  pass 
to  Ireland!  I will  not  ask  if  our  institutions 
work  easily  and  successfully  in  Ireland  ; to  ask 
such  a question  would  be  too  bitter,  too  cruel  a 
mockeryl  Those  hateful  cases  which  have  been 
tried  in  the  Dublin  Courts  this  last  year  sug- 
gest the  dark  and  ill-omened  word  which  ap- 
plies to  the  whole  state  of  Ireland  — anti-natu- 
rali  Anti-natural , anti-nature  ; that  is  the 
word  which  rises  irresistibly  in  the  mind  as  I 
survey  Ireland!  Everything  is  unnatural  there: 
the  proceedings  of  the  English  who  rule,  the 
proceedings  of  the  Irish  who  resist®  But  it  is 
with  the  working  of  our  English  institutions 
there  that  I am  now  concerned!  It  is  unnat- 
ural that  Ireland  should  be  governed  by  Lord 
Spencer  and  Mr.  Campbell  Bannerman  ; as  un- 
natural as  for  Scotland  to  be  governed  by  Lord 


132 


A Word  More  about  America. 


Cranbrook  and  Mr.  Heallyl  It  is  unnatural 
that  Ireland  should  be  governed  under  the 
Crimes  Act|  But  there  is  necessity,  replies 
the  Government!  Well,  then,  if  there  is  such 
an  evil  necessity,  it  is  unnatural  that  the  Irish 
newspapers  should  be  free  to  write  as  they 
write  and  the  Irish  members  to  speak  as  they 
speak,  — free  to  inflame  and  further  to  exasper- 
ate a seditious  people’s  mind,  and  to  promote 
the  continuance  of  the  evil  necessity!  A neces- 
sity for  the  Crimes  Act  is  a necessity  for  abso- 
lute government!  By  our  patchwork  proceedings 
we  set  up,  indeed,  a make-believe  of  Ireland’s 
being  constitutionally  governedl  But  it  is  not 
constitutionally  governed  ; nobody  supposes  it 
to  be  constitutionally  governed,  except,  perhaps, 
that  born  swallower  of  all  clap-trap,  the  British 
Philistine|  The  Irish  themselves,  the  all-im- 
portant personages  in  this  case,  are  not  taken 
in  ; our  make-believe  does  not  produce  in  them 
the  very  least  gratitude,  the  very  least  soften- 
ing|  At  the  same  time,  it  adds  an  hundredfold 
to  the  difficulties  of  an  absolute  government^ 
The  working  of  our  institutions  being  thus 
awry,  is  the  working  of  our  thoughts  upon  them 
more  smooth  and  natural ! I imagine  to  myself 
an  American,  his  own  institutions  and  his  habits 
of  thought  being  such  as  we  have  seen,  listen- 


A Word  More  about  America.  133 

ing  to  us  as  we  talk  politics  and  discuss  the 
strained  state  of  things  over  there!  “ Certainly 
these  men  have  considerable  difficulties,”  he 
would  say ; “ but  they  never  look  at  them 
straight,  they  do  not  think  straight|T  Who 
does  not  admire  the  fine  qualities  of  Lord 
Spencer  ? — and  I,  for  my  part,  am  quite  ready 
to  admit  that  he  may  require  for  a given  period 
not  only  the  present  Crimes  Act,  but  even  yet 
more  stringent  powers  of  repression!  F°r  a 
given  period,  yes  ! — but  afterwards  I Has 
Lord  Spencer  any  clear  vision  of  the  great, 
the  profound  changes  still  to  be  wrought  be- 
fore a staple  and  prosperous  society  can  arise 
in  Ireland  | Has  he  even  any  ideal  for  the  fu- 
ture there,  beyond  that  of  a time  when  he  can 
go  to  visit  Lord  Kenmare,  or  any  other  great 
landlord  who  is  his  friend,  and  find  all  the 
tenants  punctually  paying  their  rents,  prosper- 
ous and  deferential,  and  society  in  Ireland  set- 
tling quietly  down  again  upon  the  old  basis  I 
And  he  might  as  well  hope  to  see  Strongbow 
come  to  life  again  I Which  of  us  does  not 
esteem  and  like  Mr.  Trevelyan,  and  rejoice  in 
the  high  promise  of  his  career!  And  how  all 
his  friends  applauded  when  he  turned  upon  the 
exasperating  and  insulting  Irish  members,  and 
told  them  that  he  was  “ an  English  gentle- 


134  ^ Word  More  about  America. 

man  |/”  Yet,  if  one  thinks  of  it,  Mr.  Trevel- 
yan was  thus  telling  the  Irish  members  simply 
that  he  was  just  that  which  Ireland  does  not 
want,  and  which  can  do  her  no  good|  England, 
to  be  sure,  has  given  Ireland  plenty  of  her 
worst,  but  she  has  also  given  her  not  scantily 
of  her  best|  Ireland  has  had  no  insufficient 
supply  of  the  English  gentleman,  with  his  hon- 
esty, personal  courage,  high  bearing,  good  in- 
tentions, and  limited  vision  ; what  she  wants 
is  statesmen  with  just  the  qualities  which  the 
typical  English  gentleman  has  not  — flexibility, 
openness  of  mind,  a free  and  large  view  of 
things! 

Everywhere  we  shall  find  in  our  thinking,  a 
sort  of  warp  inclining  it  aside  of  the  real  mark, 
and  thus  depriving  it  of  value!  The  common 
run  of  peers  who  write  to  the  Times  about  Re- 
form of  the  House  of  Lords  one  would  not 
much  expect,  perhaps,  to  “ understand  the  signs 
of  this  time#"  But  even  the  Duke  of  Argyle, 
delivering  his  mind  about  the  land  question  in 
Scotland,  is  like  one  seeing,  thinking,  and 
speaking  in  some  other  planet  than  ours!  A 
man  of  even  Mr.  John  Morley’s  gifts  is  pro- 
voked with  the  House  of  Lords,  and  straight- 
way he  declares  himself  against  the  existence  of 
a Second  Chamber  at  all ; although  — if  there 


A Word  More  about  America. 


135 


be  such  a thing  as  demonstration  in  politics  — 
the  working  of  the  American  Senate  demon- 
strates a well-composed  Second  Chamber  to  be 
the  very  need  and  safeguard  of  a modern  democ- 
racy! What  a singular  twist,  again,  in  a man  of 
Mr.  Frederic  Harrison’s  intellectual  power,  not, 
perhaps,  to  have  in  the  exuberance  of  youthful 
energy  weighted  himself  for  the  race  of  life  by 
taking  up  a grotesque  old  French  pedant  upon 
his  shoulders,  but  to  have  insisted,  in  middle 
age,  in  taking  up  the  Protestant  Dissenters  too ; 
and  now,  when  he  is  becoming  elderly,  it  seems 
as  if  nothing  would  serve  him  but  he  must  add 
the  Peace  Society  to  his  load!  How  perverse, 
yet  again,  in  Mr.  Herbert  Spencer,  at  the  very 
moment  when  past  neglects  and  present  needs 
are  driving  men  to  co-operation,  to  making  the 
community  act  for  the  public  good  in  its  collec- 
tive and  corporate  character  of  the  State,  how 
perverse  to  seize  this  occasion  for  promulgating 
the  extremest  doctrine  of  individualism  ; and 
not  only  to  drag  this  dead  horse  along  the  pub- 
lic road  himself,  but  to  induce  Mr.  Auberon 
Herbert  to  devote  his  days  to  flogging  it  | 

We  think  thus  unaccountably  because  we  are 
living  in  an  unnatural  and  strained  stated  We 
are  like  people  whose  vision  is  deranged  by 
their  looking  through  a turbid  and  distorting 


136  A Word  More  about  America. 


atmosphere,  or  whose  movements  are  warped 
by  the  cramping  of  some  unnatural  constraint! 
Let  us  just  ask  ourselves,  looking  at  the  thing 
as  people  simply  desirous  of  finding  the  truth, 
how  men  who  saw  and  thought  straight  would 
proceed,  how  an  American,  for  instance,  — 
whose  seeing  and  thinking  has,  I have  said,  if 
not  in  all  matters,  yet  commonly  in  political 
and  social  concerns,  this  quality  of  straight- 
ness,— how  an  American  would  proceed  in  the 
three  confusions  which  I have  given  as  in- 
stances of  the  many  confusions  now  embar- 
rassing us  : the  confusion  of  our  foreign  affairs, 
the  confusion  of  the  House  of  Commons,  the 
confusion  of  Ireland^  And  then,  when  we  have 
discovered  the  kind  of  proceeding  natural  in 
these  cases,  let  us  ask  ourselves,  with  the  same 
sincerity,  what  is  the  cause  of  that  warp  of 
mind  hindering  most  of  us  from  seeing  straight 
in  them,  and  also  where  is  our  remedy| 

The  Angra  Pequena  business  has  lately  called 
forth  from  all  sides  many  and  harsh  animad- 
versions upon  Lord  Granville,  who  is  charged 
with  the  direction  of  our  foreign  affairs!  I 
shall  not  swell  the  chorus  of  complainers| 
Nothing  has  happened  but  what  was  to  be 
expected|  Long  ago  I remarked  that  it  is  not 
Lord  Granville  himself  who  determines  our 


A Word  More  about  America.  137 

foreign  policy  and  shapes  the  declarations  of 
Government  concerning  it,  but  a power  behind 
Lord  Granville!  He  and  his  colleagues  would 
call  it  the  power  of  public  opinion!  It  is  really 
the  opinion  of  that  great  ruling  class  amongst 
us  on  which  Liberal  Governments  have  hitherto 
had  to  depend  for  support,  — the  Philistines  or 
middle  classl  It  is  not,  I repeat,  with  Lord 
Granville  in  his  natural  state  and  force  that  a 
foreign  Government  has  to  deal  ; it  is  with 
Lord  Granville  waiting  in  devout  expectation  to 
see  how  the  cat  will  jump,  — and  that  cat  the 
British  Philistine  | When  Prince  Bismarck 
deals  with  Lord  Granville,  he  finds  that  he  is 
not  dealing  mind  to  nnnct  with  an  intelligent 
equal,  but  that  he  is  dealing  with  a tumult  of 
likes  and  dislikes,  hopes  and  fears,  stock-job- 
bing intrigues,  missionary  interests,  quidnuncs, 
newspapers  ; — dealing,  in  short,  with  ignora?ice 
behind  his  intelligent  equal|  Yet  ignorant  as 
our  Philistine  middle  class  may  be,  its  volitions 
on  foreign  affairs  would  have  more  intelligi- 
bility and  consistency  if  uttered  through  a 
spokesman  of  their  own  class|  Coming  through 
a nobleman  like  Lord  Granville,  who  has  neither 
the  thoughts,  habits,  nor  ideals  of  the  middle 
class,  and  yet  wishes  to  act  as  proctor  for  it, 
they  have  every  disadvantage!  He  cannot  even 


138  A Word  More  about  America. 

do  justice  to  the  Philistine  mind,  such  as  it  is, 
for  which  he  is  spokesman  ; he  apprehends  it 
uncertainly  and  expounds  it  ineffectively!  And 
so  with  the  house  and  lineage  of  Murdstone 
thundering  at  him  (and  these,  again,  through 
Lord  Derby  as  their  interpreter)  from  the  Cape, 
and  the  inexorable  Prince  Bismarck  thundering 
at  him  from  Berlin,  the  thing  naturally  ends  by 
Lord  Granville  at  last  wringing  his  adroit  hands 
and  ejaculating  disconsolately  : “ It  is  a misun- 

derstanding altogether i ” Even  yet  more  to 
be  pitied,  perhaps,  was  the  hard  case  of  Lord 
Kimberly  after  the  Majuba  Hill  disasterl  Who 
can  ever  forget  him,  poor  man,  studying  the 
faces  of  the  representatives  of  the  dissenting 
interest  and  exclaiming  : “ A sudden  thought 

strikes  me|  May  we  not  be  incurring  the  sin 
of  blood-guiltiness  I”  To  this  has  come  the 
tradition  of  Lord  Somers,  the  Whig  oligarchy 
of  1688,  and  all  Lord  Macaulay’s  Pantheon! 

I said  that  a source  of  strength  to  America, 
in  political  and  social  concerns,  was  the  homo- 
geneous character  of  American  societyH  An 
American  statesman  speaks  with  more  effect 
the  mind  of  his  fellow-citizens  from  his  being  in 
sympathy  with  it,  understanding  and  sharing  it| 
Certainly,  one  must  admit  that  if,  in  our  coun- 
try of  classes,  the  Philistine  middle  class  is 


A Word  More  about  America.  139 

really  the  inspirer  of  our  foreign  policy,  that 
policy  would  at  least  be  expounded  more  for- 
cibly if  it  had  a Philistine  for  its  spokesmanl 
Yet  I think  the  true  moral  to  be  drawn  is 
rather,  perhaps,  this : that  our  foreign  policy 
would  be  improved  if  our  whole  society  were 
homogeneousl 

As  to  the  confusion  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, what,  apart  from  defective  rules  of  pro- 
cedure, are  its  causes  I First  and  foremost,  no 
doubt,  the  temper  and  action  of  the  Irish  mem- 
bersl  But  putting  this  cause  of  confusion  out 
of  view  for  a moment,  every  one  can  see  that 
the  House  of  Commons  is  far  too  large,  and 
that  it  undertakes  a quantity  of  business  which 
belongs  more  properly  to  local  assemblies!  The 
confusion  from  these  causes  is  one  which  is 
constantly  increasing,  because,  as  the  country 
becomes  fuller  and  more  awakened,  business 
multiplies,  and  more  and  more  members  of  the 
House  are  inclined  to  take  part  in  it|  Is  not 
the  cure  for  this  found  in  a course  like  that 
followed  in  America,  in  having  a much  less 
numerous  House  of  Commons,  and  in  making 
over  a large  part  of  its  business  to  local  assem- 
blies, elected,  as  the  House  of  Commons  itself 
will  henceforth  be  elected,  by  household  suf- 
frage I I have  often  said  that  we  seem  to  me 


140 


A Word  More  about  America. 


to  need  at  present,  in  England,  three  things  in 
especial  : more  equality,  education  for  the  mid- 
dle classes,  and  a thorough  municipal  system! 
A system  of  local  assemblies  is  but  the  natural 
complement  of  a thorough  municipal  systeml 
Wholes  neither  too  large  nor  too  small,  not 
necessarily  of  equal  population  by  any  means, 
but  with  characters  rendering  them  in  them- 
selves fairly  homogeneous  and  coherent,  are 
the  fit  units  for  choosing  these  local  assemblies! 
Such  units  occur  immediately  to  one’s  mind  in 
the  provinces  of  Ireland,  the  Highlands  and 
Lowlands  of  Scotland,  Wales,  north  and  south, 
groups  of  English  counties  such  as  present 
themselves  in  the  circuits  of  the  judges  or 
under  the  names  of  East  Anglia  or  the  Mid- 
lands! No  one  will  suppose  me  guilty  of  the 
pedantry  of  here  laying  out  definitive  districts  ; 
I do  but  indicate  such  units  as  may  enable  the 
reader  to  conceive  the  kind  of  basis  required 
for  the  local  assemblies  of  which  I am  speak- 
ing! The  business  of  these  districts  would  be 
more  advantageously  done  in  assemblies  of  the 
kind ; they  would  form  a useful  school  for  the 
increasing  number  of  aspirants  to  public  life, 
and  the  House  of  Commons  would  be  relieved/ 
The  strain  in  Ireland  would  be  relieved  too, 
and  by  natural  and  safe  meansl  Irishmen  are 


A Word  More  about  America.  141 

to  be  found,  who,  in  desperation  at  the  present 
state  of  their  country,  cry  out  for  making  Ire- 
land independent  and  separate,  with  a national 
Parliament  in  Dublin,  with  her  own  foreign 
office  and  diplomacy,  her  own  army  and  navy, 
her  own  tariff,  coinage,  and  currency!  This  is 
manifestly  impracticable!  But  here  again  let 
us  look  at  what  is  done  by  people  who  in  poli- 
tics think  straight  and  see  clear  ; let  us  observe 
what  is  done  in  the  United  States#  The  Gov- 
ernment at  Washington  reserves  matters  of  im- 
perial concern,  matters  such  as  those  just  enu- 
merated, which  cannot  be  relinquished  without 
relinquishing  the  unity  of  the  empire#  Neither 
does  it  allow  one  great  South  to  be  constituted, 
or  one  great  West,  with  a Southern  Parliament, 
or  a Western#  Provinces  that  are  too  large  are 
broken  up,  as  Virginia  has  been  broken  upl 
But  the  several  States  are  nevertheless  real  and 
important  wholes,  each  with  its  own  legisla- 
ture ; and  to  each  the  control,  within  its  own 
borders,  of  all  except  imperial  concerns  is  freely 
committed#  The  United  States  Government 
intervenes  only  to  keep  order  in  the  last  resort# 
Let  us  suppose  a similar  plan  applied  in  Irelandl 
There  are  four  provinces  there,  forming  four 
natural  wholes  — or  perhaps  (if  it  should  seem 
expedient  to  put  Munster  and  Connaught  to- 


142  A Word  More  about  America. 

gether)  three)  The  Parliament  of  the  empire 
would  still  be  in  London,  and  Ireland  would 
send  members  to  it|  But  at  the  same  time  each 
Irish  province  would  have  its  own  legislature, 
and  the  control  of  its  own  real  affairs!  The 
British  landlord  would  no  longer  determine  the 
dealings  with  land  in  an  Irish  province,  nor  the 
British  Protestant  the  dealings  with  church  and 
education!  Apart  from  imperial  concerns,  or 
from  disorders  such  as  to  render  military  inter- 
vention necessary,  the  government  in  London 
would  leave  Ireland  to  manage  itselfl  Lord 
Spencer  and  Mr.  Campbell  Bannerman  would 
come  back  to  England)  Dublin  Castle  would 
be  the  State  House  of  Leinster!  Land  ques- 
tions, game  laws,  police,  church,  education,  would 
be  regulated  by  the  people  and  legislature  of 
Leinster  for  Leinster,  of  Ulster  for  Ulster,  of 
Munster  and  Connaught  for  Munster  and  Con- 
naught! The  same  with  the  like  matters  in 
England  and  Scotlandl  The  local  legislatures 
would  regulate  theml 

But  there  is  morel  Everybody  who  watches 
the  working  of  our  institutions  perceives  what 
strain  and  friction  is  caused  in  it  at  present,  by 
our  having  a Second  Chamber  composed  almost 
entirely  of  great  landowners,  and  representing 
the  feelings  and  interests  of  the  class  of  land- 


A Word  More  about  America.  143 

owners  almost  exclusively!  No  one,  certainly, 
under  the  conditions  of  a modern  age  and  our 
actual  life,  would  ever  think  of  devising  such  a 
Chamber!  But  we  will  allow  ourselves  to  do 
more  than  merely  state  this  truism,  we  will 
allow  ourselves  to  ask  what  sort  of  Second 
Chamber,  people  who  thought  straight  and  saw 
clear  would,  under  the  conditions  of  a modern 
age  and  of  our  actual  life,  naturally  makel  And 
we  find  from  the  experience  of  the  United 
States,  that  such  provincial  legislatures  as  we 
have  just  now  seen  to  be  the  natural  remedy 
for  the  confusion  in  the  House  of  Commons, 
the  natural  remedy  for  the  confusion  in  Ireland, 
have  the  further  great  merit,  besides,  of  giving 
us  the  best  basis  possible  for  a modern  Second 
Chamber!  The  United  States  Senate  is  per- 
haps, of  all  the  institutions  of  that  country,  the 
most  happily  devised,  the  most  successful  in  its 
working!  The  legislature  of  each  State  in  the 
Union  elects  two  senators  to  the  Second  Cham- 
ber of  the  national  Congress  at  Washington! 
The  senators  are  the  Lords  — if  we  like  to  keep, 
as  it  is  surely  best  to  keep,  for  designating  the 
members  of  the  Second  Chamber,  the  title  to 
which  we  have  been  for  so  many  ages  habitu- 
atedl  Each  of  the  provincial  legislatures  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland  would  elect  members 


144  -A  Word  More  about  America. 

to  the  House  of  Lordsl  The  colonial  legisla- 
tures also  would  elect  members  to  it ; and  thus 
we  should  be  complying  in  the  most  simple  and 
yet  the  most  signal  way  possible  with  the  pres- 
ent desire  of  both  this  country  and  the  colonies 
for  a closer  union  together,  for  some  represen- 
tation of  the  colonies  in  the  Imperial  Parlia- 
ment} Probably,  it  would  be  found  expedient 
to  transfer  to  the  Second  Chamber  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  universities!  But  no  scheme 
for  a Second  Chamber  will  at  the  present  day  be 
found  solid  unless  it  stands  on  a genuine  basis 
of  election  and  representation!  All  schemes 
for  forming  a Second  Chamber  through  nomin- 
ation, whether  by  the  Crown  or  by  any  other 
voice,  of  picked  noblemen,  great  officials,  lead- 
ing merchants  and  bankers,  eminent  men  of 
letters  and  science,  are  fantastic}  Probably, 
they  would  not  give  us  by  any  means  a good 
Second  Chamber)  But,  certainly,  they  would 
not  satisfy  the  country  or  possess  its  confidence, 
and  therefore  they  would  be  found  futile  and 
unworkable} 

So  we  discover  what  would  naturally  appear 
the  desirable  way  out  of  some  of  our  worst  con- 
fusions, to  anybody  who  saw  clear  and  thought 
straight}  But  there  is  little  likelihood,  probably, 
of  any  such  way  being  soon  perceived  and  fol- 


A Word  More  about  America.  145 

lowed  by  our  community  here)  And  why  is 
this*?  Because,  as  a community,  we  have  so 
little  lucidity,  we  so  little  see  clear  and  think 
straightl  And  why,  again,  is  this)  Because  our 
community  is  so  little  homogeneous!  The  lower 
class  has  yet  to  show  what  it  will  do  in  politicsl 
Rising  politicians  are  already  beginning  to  flat- 
ter it  with  servile  assiduity,  but  their  praise  is 
as  yet  premature ; the  lower  class  is  too  little 
known/  The  upper  class  and  the  middle  class 
we  know!  They  have  each  their  own  supposed 
interests,  and  these  are  very  different  from  the 
true  interests  of  the  community!  Our  very 
classes  make  us  dim-seeing?  In  a modern  time, 
we  are  living  with  a system  of  classes  so  in- 
tense, a society  of  such  unnatural  complication, 
that  the  whole  action  of  our  minds  is  hampered 
and  falsened  by  it)  I return  to  my  old  thesis  : 
inequality  is  our  bane!  The  great  impediments 
in  our  way  of  progress  are  aristocracy  and  Prot- 
estant dissent)  People  think  this  is  an  epi- 
gram ; alas,  it  is  much  rather  a truism  f 

An  aristocratical  society  like  ours  is  often 
said  to  be  the  society  from  which  artists  and 
men  of  letters  have  most  to  gain?  But  an 
institution  is  to  be  judged,  not  by  what  one 
can  oneself  gain  from  it,  but  by  the  ideal  which 
it  sets  up!  An  aristocracy  — if  I may  once 


146  A Word  More  about  America. 

more  repeat  words,  which,  however  often  re- 
peated, have  still  a value,  from  their  truth  — 
^aristocracy  now  sets  up  in  our  country  a false 
ideal,  which  materializes  our  upper  class,  vul- 
garizes our  middle  class,  brutalizes  our  lower 
class/  It  misleads  the  young,  makes  the 
worldly  more  worldly,  the  limited  more  limited, 
the  stationary  more  stationary!  Even  to  the 
imaginative,  whom  Lord  John  Manners  thinks 
its  sure  friend,  it  is  more  a hindrance  than  a 
help!  Johnson  says  well:  “Whatever  makes 
the  past,  the  distant,  or  the  future,  predominate 
over  the  present,  advances  us  in  the  dignity  of 
thinking  beings|”  But  what  is  a Duke  of  Nor- 
folk or  an  Earl  of  Warwick,  dressed  in  broad- 
cloth and  tweed,  and  going  about  his  business  or 
pleasure  in  hansom  cabs  and  railway  carriages, 
like  the  rest  of  us  / Imagination  herself  would 
entreat  him  to  take  himself  out  of  the  way,  and 
to  leave  us  to  the  Norfolks  and  Warwicks  of 
historyl 

I say  this  without  a particle  of  hatred,  and 
with  esteem,  adtniration,  and  affection  for  many 
individuals  in  the  aristocratical  class|  But  the 
action  of  time  and  circumstance  is  fatal!  If 
one  asks  oneself  what  is  really  to  be  desired, 
what  is  expedient,  one  would  go  far  beyond  the 
substitution  of  an  elected  Second  Chamber  for 


A Word  More  about  America. 


147 


the  present  House  of  Lords|  All  confiscation 
is  to  be  reprobated,  all  deprivation  (except  in 
bad  cases  of  abuse)  of  what  is  actually  pos- 
sessed! But  one  would  wish,  if  one  set  about 
wishing-,  for  the  extinction  of  title,  after  the 
death  of  the  holder,  and  for  the  dispersion  of 
property  by  a stringent  law  of  bequest!  Our 
society  should  be  homogeneous,  and  only  in 
this  way  can  it  become  sot 

But  aristocracy  is  in  little  danger^  “ I sup- 
pose, sir,”  a dissenting  minister  said  to  me,  the 
other  day,  “you  found,  when  you  were  in  Amer- 
ica, that  they  envied  us  there  our  great  aristoc- 
racy!” It  was  his  sincere  belief  that  they  did, 
and  such  probably,  is  the  sincere  belief  of  our 
middle  class  in  general ; or,  at  any  rate,  that  if 
the  Americans  do  not  envy  us  this  possession, 
they  ought  tol  And  my  friend,  one  of  the  great 
Liberal  party  -which  has  now,  I suppose,  pretty 
nearly  run  down  its  deceased  wife’s  sister,  poor 
thing,  has  his  hand  and  heart  full,  so  far  as 
politics  are  concerned,  of  the  question  of  church 
disestablishmentj  He  is  eager  to  set  to  work 
at  a change  which,  even  if  it  were  desirable 
(and  I think  it  is  not),  is  yet  off  the  line  of 
those  reforms  which  are  really  pressing! 

Mr.  Lyulph  Stanley,  Professor  Stuart,  and 
Lord  Richard  Grosvenor  are  waiting  ready  to 


148  A Word  More  about  America. 

help  him,  and  perhaps  Mr.  Chamberlain  him- 
self will  lead  the  attack^  I admire  Mr.  Cham- 
berlain as  a politician,  because  he  has  the 
courage  — and  it  is  a wise  courage  — to  state 
large  the  reforms  we  need,  instead  of  mini- 
mizing theml  But  like  Saul,  before  his  con- 
version, he  breathes  out  threatenings  and 
slaughter  against  the  Church,  and  is  likely, 
perhaps,  to  lead  an  assault  upon  hefl  He  is  a 
formidable  assailant,  yet  I suspect  he  might 
oreak  his  finger-nails  on  her  walls!  If  the 
Church  has  the  majority  for  her,  she  will  of 
course  stand!  But  in  any  case,  this  institution, 
with  all  its  faults,  has  that  merit  which  makes 
the  great  strength  of  institutions  — it  offers  an 
ideal  which  is  noble  and  attaching!  Equality 
is  its  profession,  if  not  always  its  practicel  It 
inspires  wide  and  deep  affection,  and  possesses, 
therefore,  immense  strength!  Probably  the 
establishment  will  not  stand  in  Wales  probably 
it  will  not  stand  in  Scotland#  In  Wales,  it 
ought  not,  I think,  to  standj  In  Scotland,  I 
should  regret  its  fall : but  Presbyterian  churches 
are  born  to  separatism,  as  the  sparks  fly  up- 
wardsj  At  any  rate,  it  is  through  the  vote  of 
local  legislatures  that  disestablishment  is  likely 
to  come,  as  a measure  required  in  certain  prov- 
inces, not  as  a general  measure  for  the  whole 


A Word  More  aboict  America.  149 

countr$  In  other  words,  the  endeavor  for  dis- 
establishment ought  to  be  postponed  to  the 
endeavor  for  far  more  important  reforms,  not 
to  precede  itf  Yet  I doubt  whether  Mr. 
Chamberlain  and  Mr.  Lyulph  Stanley  will  listen 
to  me  when  I plead  thus  with  them  ; there  is 
so  little  lucidity  in  England,  and  they  will  say 
I am  priest-riddenf 

One  man  there  is,  whom  above  all  others  I 
would  fain  have  seen  in  Parliament  during  the 
last  ten  years,  and  beheld  established  in  influ- 
ence there  at  this  juncture,  — Mr.  Goldwin 
SmithJ  I do  not  say  that  he  was  not  too  em- 
bittered against  the  Church  ; in  my  opinion  he 
wast  But  with  singular  lucidity  and  penetra- 
tion he  saw  what  great  reforms  were  needed  in 
other  directions,  and  the  order  of  relative  im- 
portance in  which  reforms  stood|  Such  were 
his  character,  style,  and  faculties,  that  alone  per- 
haps among  men  of  his  insight  he  was  capable 
of  getting  his  ideas  weighed  and  entertained  by 
men  in  power  ; while  amid  all  favor  and  under 
all  temptations  he  was  certain  to  have  still  re- 
mained true  to  his  insight,  “ unshaken,  unse- 
duced, unterrifiedl!^  I think  of  him  as  a real 
power  for  good  in  Parliament  at  this  time,  had 
he  by  now  become,  as  he  might  have  become, 
one  of  the  leaders  therejl  His  absence  from  the 


150  A Word  More  about  America. 

scene,  his  retirement  in  Canada,  is  a loss  to  his 
friends,  but  a still  greater  loss  to  his  country! 

Hardly  inferior  in  influence  to  Parliament  it- 
self is  journalism^  I do  not  conceive  of  Mr. 
John  Morley  as  made  for  filling  that  position  in 
Parliament  which  Mr.  Goldwin  Smith  would,  I 
think,  have  filled!  If  he  controls,  as  Protesilaos 
in  the  poem  advises,  hysterical  passion  (the  be- 
setting danger  of  men  of  letters  on  the  plat- 
form and  in  Parliament)  and  remembers  to  ap- 
prove “the  depth  and  not  the  tumult  of  the 
soul,”  he  will  be  powerful  in  Parliament ; he  will 
rise,  he  will  come  into  office  ; but  he  will  not  do 
for  us  in  Parliament,  I think,  what  Mr.  Goldwin 
Smith  would  have  donej  He  is  too  much  of  a 
partisan!  In  journalism,  on  the  other  hand,  he 
was  as  unique  a figure  as  Mr.  Goldwin  Smith 
would,  I imagine,  have  been  in  Parliament^  As 
a journalist,  Mr.  John  Morley  showed  a mind 
which  seized  and  understood  the  signs  of  the 
times  ; he  had  all  the  ideas  of  a man  of  the  best 
insight,  and  alone,  perhaps,  among  men  of  his 
insight,  he  had  the  skill  for  making  these  ideas 
pass  into  journalism!  But  Mr.  John  Morley  has 
now  left  journalism|  There  is  plenty  of  talent 
in  Parliament,  plenty  of  talent  in  journalism, 
but  no  one  in  either  to  expound  “ the  signs  of 
this  time  ” as  these  two  men  might  have  ex- 


A Word  More  aboict  America.  r5i 

pounded  them\  The  signs  of  the  time,  political 
and  social,  are  left,  I regret  to  say,  to  bring 
themselves  as  they  best  can  to  the  notice  of  the 
public!  Yet  how  ineffective  an  organ  is  litera- 
ture for  conveying  them,  compared  with  Parlia- 
ment and  journalism  l 

Conveyed  somehow,  however,  they  certainly 
should  be,  and  in  this  disquisition  I have  tried 
to  deal  with  them!  But  the  political  and  social 
problem,  as  the  thinkers  call  it,  must  not  so  oc- 
cupy us  as  to  make  us  forget  the  human  prob- 
leml  The  problems  are  connected  together,  but 
they  are  not  identical!!  Our  political  and  social 
confusions  I admit  ; what  Parliament  is  at  this 
moment,  I see  and  deplore.  Yet  nowhere  but 
in  England  even  now,  not  in  France,  not  in  Ger- 
many, not  in  America,  could  there  be  found 
public  men  of  that  quality  — so  capable  of  fair 
dealing,  of  trusting  one  another,  keeping  their 
word  to  one  another  — as  to  make  possible  such 
a settlement  of  the  Franchise  and  Seats  Bills  as 
that  which  we  have  lately  seen!  Plato  says 
with  most  profound  truth  : “ The  man  who 
would  think  to  good  purpose  must  be  able  to 
take  many  things  into  his  view  together!”  How 
homogeneous  American  society  is,  I have  done 
my  best  to  declare  ; how  smoothly  and  naturally 
the  institutions  of  the  United  States  work,  how 


152 


A Word  More  about  America. 


clearly,  in  some  most  important  respects,  the 
Americans  see,  how  straight  they  thinkl  Yet 
Sir  Lepel  Griffin  says  that  there  is  no  country 
calling  itself  civilized  where  one  would  not 
rather  live  than  in  America,  except  Russia!  In 
politics  I do  not  much  trust  Sir  Lepel  Griffin! 
I hope  that  he  administers  in  India  some  dis- 
trict where  a profound  insight  into  the  being 
and  working  of  institutions  is  not  requisitel 
But,  I suppose,  of  the  tastes  of  himself  and  of 
that  large  class  of  Englishmen  whom  Mr. 
Charles  Sumner  has  taught  us  to  call  the  class 
of  gentlemen,  he  is  no  untrustworthy  reporter! 
And  an  Englishman  of  this  class  would  rather 
live  in  France,  Spain,  Holland,  Belgium,  Ger- 
many, Italy,  Switzerland,  than  in  the  United 
States,  in  spite  of  our  community  of  race  and 
speech  with  them  f This  means  that,  in  the 
opinion  of  men  of  that  class,  the  human  prob- 
lem, at  least,  is  not  well  solved  in  the  United 
States,  whatever  the  political  and  social  problem 
may  be|  And  to  the  human  problem  in  the 
United  States  we  ought  certainly  to  turn  our 
attention,  especially  when  we  find  taken  such  an 
objection  as  this;  and  some  day,  though  not 
now,  we  will  do  so,  and  try  to  see  what  the  ob- 
jection comes  to!  I have  given  hostages  to  the 
United  States,  I am  bound  to  them  by  the 


A Word  More  about  America.  153 

memory  of  great,  untiring,  and  most  attaching 
kindnessl  I should  not  like  to  have  to  own 
them  to  be  of  all  countries  calling  themselves 
civilized,  except  Russia,  the  country  where  one 
would  least  like  to  livdl 


CIVILIZATION  IN  THE  UNITED 
STATES. 


IV, 


CIVILIZATION  IN  THE  UNITED 
STATES. 

Two  or  three  years  ago  I spoke  in  this  Re- 
view * on  the  subject  of  America;  and  after 
considering  the  institutions  and  the  social  con- 
dition of  the  people  of  the  United  States,  I 
said  that  what,  in  the  jargon  of  the  present  day, 
is  called  “ the  political  and  social  problem,”  does 
seem  to  be  solved  there  with  remarkable  suc- 
cessl  JLpointed  out  the  contrast  which  in  this 
respect  the  United  States  offer  to  our  own 
country,  — a contrast,  in  several  ways,  much  to 
their  advantagel  But  ,1  added  that  the  solution 
of  the  political  and  social  problem,  as  it  is 
called,  ought  not  so  to  absorb  us  as  to  make  us 
forget  the  human  problem  ; and  that  it  remained 
to  ask  how  the  human  problem  is  solved  in  the 
United  Statesl  It  happened  that  Sir  Lepel 
Griffin,  a very  acute  and  distinguished  Indian 
official,  had  just  then  been  travelling  in  the 
United  States,  and  had  published  his  opinion, 

* The  Nineteenth  Century,  London. 

1 57 


158  Civilization  in  the  United  States. 

from  what  he  saw  of  the  life  there,  that  there 
is  no  country  calling  itse’f  civilized  where  one 
would  not  rather  live  than  in  America,  except 
Russia!  Certainly  then,  I said,  one  cannot  rest 
satisfied,  when  one  finds  such  a judgment  passed 
on  the  United  States  as  this,  with  admiring 
their  institutions  and  their  solid  social  condition, 
their  freedom  and  equality,  their  power,  energy, 
and  wealth!  One  must,  further,  go  on  to  exam- 
ine what  is  done  there  towards  solving  the 
human  problem,  and  must  see  what  Sir  Lepel 
Grififin’s  objection  comes  to| 

And  this  examination  I promised  that  I would 
one  day  make!  However,  it  is  so  delicate  a 
matter  to  discuss  how  a sensitive  nation  solves 
the  human  problem,  that  I found  myself  inclined 
to  follow  the  example  of  the  Greek  moralist 
Theophrastus,  who  waited,  before  composing 
his  famous  characters,  until  he  was  ninety-nine 
years  old|  I thought  I had  perhaps  better  wait 
until  I was  about  that  age,  before  I discussed 
the  success  of  the  Americans  in  solving  the 
human  problem!  But  ninety-nine  is  a great 
age  ; it  is  probable  that  I may  never  reach  it, 
or  even  come  near  it!  So  I have  determined, 
finally,  to  face  the  question  without  any  such 
long  delay,  and  thus  I come  to  offer  to  the 
readers  of  this  Review  the  remarks  following. 


Civilization  in  the  United  States.  159 

With  the  same  frankness  with  which  I discussed 
here  the  solution  of  the  political  and  social 
problem  by  the  people  of  the  United  States,  I 
shall  discuss  their  success  in  solving  the  human 
problem! 

Perhaps  it  is  not  likely  that  any  one  will  now 
remember  what  I said  three  years  ago  here 
about  the  success  of  the  Americans  in  solving 
the  political  and  social  problem!  T will  sum  it 
up  in  the  briefest  possible  manner!  I said  that 
the  United  States  had  constituted  themselves 
in  a modern  age ; that  their  institutions  com- 
plied well  with  the  form  and  pressure  of  those 
circumstances  and  conditions  which  a modern 
age  presentsl  Quite  apart  from  all  question 
how  much  of  the  merit  for  this  may  be  due  to 
the  wisdom  and  virtue  of  the  American  people, 
and  how  much  to  their  good  fortune,  it  is  unde- 
niable that  their  institutions  do  work  well  and 
happilyl  The  play  of  their  institutions  suggests, 
I said,  the  image  of  a man  in  a suit  of  clothes 
which  fits  him  to  perfection,  leaving  all  his 
movements  unimpeded  and  easy ; a suit  of 
clothes  loose  where  it  ought  to  be  loose,  and 
sitting  close  where  its  sitting  close  is  an  advan- 
tage ; a suit  of  clothes  able,  moreover,  to  adapt 
itself  naturally  to  the  wearer’s  growth,  and  to 
admit  of  all  enlargements  as  they  successively 
arise! 


160  Civilization  in  the  United  States. 


So  much  as  to  the  solution,  by  the  United 
States,  of  the  political  problem!  As  to  the 
.social  problem,  I observed  that  the  people  of 
the  United  States  were  a community  singularly 
free  from  the  distinction  of  classes,  singularly 
^homogeneous ; that  the  division  between  rich 
and  poor  was  consequently  less  profound  there 
than  in  countries  where  the  distinction  of  classes 
accentuates  that  division^  I added  that  I be- 
lieved there  was  exaggeration  in  the  reports  of 
3'  their  administrative  and  judicial  corruption  ; and 
altogether,  I concluded,  the  United  States,  politi- 
cally and  socially,  are  a country  living  prosper- 
ously in  a natural  modern  condition,  and  con- 
scious of  living  prosperously  in  such  a condition! 
And  being  in  this  healthy  case,  and  having  this 
healthy  consciousness,  the  community  there  uses 
its  understanding  with  the  soundness  of  health ; 
it  in  general,  as  to  its  own  political  and  social  con- 
cerns, sees  clear  and  thinks  straight!  Compar- 
ing the  United  States  with  ourselvesj  said  that 
while  they  are  in  this  natural  'and  healthy  con- 
dition, we,  on  the  contrary,  are  so  little  homo- 
geneous, we  are  living  with  a system  of  classes 
so  intense,  with  institutions  and  a society  so 
little  modern,  so  unnaturally  complicated,  that 
the  whole  action  of  our  minds  is  hampered  and 
falsened  by  it ; we  are  in  consequence  wanting 


Civilization  in  the  United  States.  161 

in  lucidity,  we  cLo  not  s£.e  cigar  or_think_straight, 
and  the  Americans  have  here  much  the  advan- 
tage of  usl 

Yet  we  find  an  acute  and  experienced  Eng- 
lishman saying  that  there  is  no  country,  calling 
itself  civilized,  where  one  would  not  rather  live 
than  in  the  United  States,  except  Russia!  The 
civilization  of  the  United  States  must  some- 
how, if  an  able  man  can  think  thus,  have  short- 
comings, in  spite  of  the  country’s  success  and 
prosperit)4  What  is  civilization  I It  is  the 
humanization  of  man  in  society,  the  satisfaction 
for  him,  in  society,  of  the  true  law  of  human 
nature!  Man’s  study,  says  Plato,  is  to  discover 
the  right  answer  to  the  question  how  to  live  ? 
our  aim,  he  says,  is  very  and  true  life!  We  are 
more  or  less  civilized  as  we  come  more  or  less 
near  to  this  aim,  in  that  social  state  which  the 
pursuit  of  our  aim  essentially  demands!  But 
several  elements  or  powers,  as  I have  often 
insisted,  go  to  build  up  a complete  human  lifel 
There  is  the  power  of  conduct,  the  power  of 
intellect  and  knowledge,  the  power  of  beauty, 
the  power  of  social  life  and  manners  ; we  have 
instincts  responding  to  them  all,  requiring  them 
all!  And  we  are  perfectly  civilized  only  when 
all  these  instincts  in  our  nature,  all  these  ele- 
ments in  our  civilization,  have  been  adequately 


1 62  Civilization  in  the  United  States. 

recognized  and  satisfied)  But  of  course  this 
adequate  recognition  and  satisfaction  of  all  the 
elements  in  question  is  impossible ; some  of 
them  are  recognized  more  than  others,  some  of 
them  more  in  one  community,  some  in  another ; 
and  the  satisfactions  found  are  more  or  less 
worthyli 

And,  meanwhile,  people  use  the  term  civiliza- 
tion in  the  loosest  possible  way,  for  the  most 
part  attaching  to  it,  however,  in  their  own 
mind  some  meaning  connected  with  their  own 
preferences  and  experiences!  The  most  com- 
mon meaning  thus  attached  to  it  is  perhaps 
that  of  a satisfaction,  not  of  all  the  main 
demands  of  human  nature,  but  of  the  demand 
for  the  comforts  and  conveniences  of  life,  and 
of  this  demand  as  made  by  the  sort  of  person 
who  uses  the  term| 

. Now  we  should  always  attend  to  the  common 
and  prevalent  use  of  an  important  termf  Prob- 
ably Sir  Lepel  Griffin  had  this  notion  of  the 
comforts  and  conveniences  of  life  much  in  his 
thoughts  when  he  reproached  American  civili- 
zation with  its  shortcomings!  For  men  of  his 
kind,  and  for  all  that  large  number  of  men,  so 
prominent  in  this  country  and  who  make  their 
voice  so  much  heard,  men  who  have  been  at 
the  public  schools  and  universities,  men  of  the 


Civilisation  in  the  United  States.  163 

professional  and  official  class,  men  who  do  the 
most  part  of  our  literature  and  our  journalism, 
America  is  not  a comfortable  place  of  abode! 
A man  of  this  sort  has  in  England  everything 
in  his  favor ; society  appears  organized  ex- 
pressly for  his  advantage!  A Rothschild  or  a 
Vanderbilt  can  buy  his  way  anywhere,  and  can 
have  what  comforts  and  luxuries  he  likes, 
whether  m America  or  in  England!  But  it  is 
in  England  that  an  income  of  from  three  or 
four  to  fourteen  or  fifteen  hundred  a year  does 
so  much  for  its  possessor,  enables  him  to  live 
with  so  many  of  the  conveniences  of  far  richer 
peoplel  For  his  benefit,  his  benefit  above  all, 
clubs  are  organized  and  hansom  cabs  ply ; 
service  is  abundant,  porters  stand  waiting  at 
the  railway  stationsl  In  America  all  luxuries 
are  dear  except  oysters  and  ice  ; service  is  in 
general  scarce  and  bad  ; a club  is  a most  expen- 
sive luxury  : the  cab-rates  are  prohibitive  — 
more  than  liaif  of  the  people  who  in  England 
would  use  cabs  must  in  America  use  the  horse- 
cars,  the  traml  The  charges  of  tailors  and 
mercers  are  about  a third  higher  than  they  are 
with  usl  I mention  only  a few  striking  points 
as  to  which  there  can  be  no  dispute,  and  in 
which  a man  of  Sir  Lepel  Griffin’s  class  would 
fe«d  the  great  difference  between  America  and 


164  Civilization  in  the  United  States. 


England  in  the  conveniences  at  ms  command! 
There  are  a hundred  other  points  one  might 
mention,  where  he  would  feel  the  same  thingl 
When  a man  is  passing  judgment  on  a coun- 
try’s civilization,  points  of  this  kind  crowd  to 
his  memory,  and  determine  his  sentence! 

On  the  other  hand,  for  that  immense  class  of 
people,  the  great  bulk  of  the  community,  the 
class  of  people  whose  income  is  less  than  three 
or  four  hundred  a year,  things  in  America  are 
favorable!  It  is  easier  for  them  there  than  in 
the  Old  World  to  rise  and  to  make  their  fortune  ; 
but  I am  not  now  speaking  of  thatH  Even  with- 
out making  their  fortune,  even  with  their 
income  below  three  or  four  hundred  a year, 
things  are  favorable  to  them  in  America,  society 
seems  organized  there  for  their  benefit!  To 
1 begin  with,  the  humbler  kind  of  work  is  better 
paid  in  America  than  with  us  ; the  higher  kind, 
\_worsel  The  official,  for  instance,  gets  less,  his 
office-keeper  gets  morel  The  public  ways  are 
abominably  cut  up  by  rails  and  blocked  with 
horse-cars ; but  the  inconvenience  is  for  those 
who  use  private  carriages  and  cabs,  the  con- 
venience is  for  the  bulk  of  the  community  who 
but  for  the  horse-cars  would  have  to  walk| 
The  ordinary  railway  cars  are  not  delightful, 
but  they  are  cheap,  and  they  are  better  fur- 


Civilization  in  the  United  States.  165 

nished  and  in  winter  are  warmer  than  third- 
class  carriages  in  Englandl  Luxuries  are,  as  I 
have  said,  very  dear  — above  all,  European 
luxuries ; but  a working-man’s  clothing  is 
nearly  as  cheap  as  in  England,  and  plain  food 
is  on  the  whole  cheapeit  Even  luxuries  of  a 
certain  kind  are  within  a laboring  man’s  easy 
reach!  I have  mentioned  ice ; I will  mention 
fruit  also|  The  abundance  and  cheapness  of 
fruit  is  a great  boon  to  people  of  small  incomes 
in  America!  Do  not  believe  the  Americans 
when  they  extol  their  peaches  as  equal  to  any 
in  the  world,  or  better  than  any  in  the  world ; 
they  are  not  to  be  compared  to  peaches  grown 
under  glassl  Do  not  believe  that  the  American 
Newtown  pippins  appear  in  the  New  York  and 
Boston  fruit-shops  as  they  appear  in  those  of 
London  and  Liverpool  ; or  that  the  Americans 
have  any  pear  to  give  you  like  the  Marie 
Louise!  But  what  laborer,  or  artisan,  or  small 
clerk,  ever  gets  hot-house  peaches,  or  Newtown 
pippins,  or  Marie  Louise  pears  ? Not  such 
good  pears,  apples,  and  peaches  as  those,  but 
pears,  apples,  and  peaches  by  no  means  to  be 
despised,  such  people  and  their  families  do  in 
America  get  in  plenty! 

Well,  now,  what  would  a philosopher  or  a, 
philanthropist  say  in  this  case^  which  would  he 


1 66  Civilization  in  the  United  States. 

say  was  the  more  civilized  condition  — that  of 
the  country  where  the  balance  of  advantage,  a*, 
to  the  comforts  and  conveniences  of  life,  is 
greatly  in  favor  of  the  people  with  incomes  be- 
low three  hundred  a year,  or  that  of  the  country 
where  it  is  greatly  in  favor  of  those  with  incomes 
above  that  sum  f 

Many  people  will  be  ready  to  give  an  answer 
to  that  question  without  the  smallest  hesitation# 
They  will  say  that  they  are,  and  that  all  of  us 
ought  to  be,  for  the  greatest  happiness  of  the 
greatest  number!  However,  the  question  is  not 
one  which  I feel  bound  now  to  discuss  and 
answer|  Of  course,  if  happiness  and  civilization 
consists  in  being  plentifully  supplied  with  the 
comforts  and  conveniences  of  life,  the  question 
presents  little  difficulty!  But  I believe  neither 
that  happiness  consists,  merely  or  mainly,  in 
being  plentifully  supplied  with  the  comforts  and 
conveniences  of  life,  nor  that  civilization  consists 
in  being  so  supplied  ; therefore,  I leave  the  ques- 
tion unanswered! 

I prefer  to  seek  for  some  other  and  better 
tests  by  which  to  try  the  civilization  of  the 
United  States^  I have  often  insisted  on  the 
need  of  more  equality  in  our  own  country,  and 
on  the  mischiefs  caused  by  inequality  over  herq| 
In  the  United  States  there  is  not  our  intense 


Civilization  in  the  United  States.  i67 


division  of  classes,  our  inequality  ; there  is  great 
equality!  Let  me  mention  two  points  in  the 
system  of  social  life  and  manners  over  there  in 
which  this  equality  seems  to  me  to  have  done 
good|  The  first  is  a mere  point  of  form,  but  it 
has  its  significance!  Every  one  knows  it  is  the 
established  habit  with  us  in  England,  if  we  write 
to  people  supposed  to  belong  to  the  class  of 
gentlemen,  of  addressing  them  by  the  title  of 
Esquire,  while  we  keep  Mr.  for  people  not  sup- 
posed to  belong  to  that  clsss|  If  we  think  of  it, 
could  one  easily  find  a habit  more  ridiculous, 
more  offensive  | The  title  of  Esquire,  like  most 
of  our  titles,  comes  out  of  the  great  frippery 
shop  of  the  Middle  Age  ; it  is  alien  to  the  sound 
taste  and  manner  of  antiquity,  when  men  said 
Pericles  and  Camilla s%  But  unlike  other  titles, 
it  is  applied  or  withheld  quite  arbitrarily! 
Surely,  where  a man  has  no  specific  title  proper 
to  him,  the  one  plain  title  of  Master  or  Mr.  is 
enough,  and  we  need  not  be  encumbered  with  a 
second  title  of  Esquire,  now  quite  unmeaning, 
to  draw  an  invidious  and  impossible  line  of  dis- 
tinction between  those  who  are  gentlemen  and 
those  who  are  not ; as  if  we  actually  wished  to 
provide  a source  of  embarrassment  for  the 
sender  of  a letter,  and  of  mortification  for  the 
receiver  of  it| 


1 68  Civilization  in  the  United  States. 


The  French,  those  great  authorities  in  social 
life  and  manners,  find  Mr.  enough,  and  the 
Americans  are  more  and  more,  I am  glad  to  say, 
following  the  French  example|  I only  hope 
they  will  persevere,  and  not  be  seduced  by  Es- 
quire being  “ so  English,  you  knowf”  And  I do 
hope,  moreover,  that  we  shall  one  day  take  the 
same  course  and  drop  our  absurd  Esquir\ 

The  other  point  goes  deeper!  Much  may  be 
said  against  the  voices  and  intonation  of  Ameri. 
can  womenj  But  almost  every  one  acknowl- 
edges that  there  is  a charm  in  American  women 
— a charm  which  you  find  in  almost  all  of  them, 
wherever  you  goj|  It  is  the  charm  of  a natural 
y.  manner,  a manner  not  self-conscious,  artificial^ 
and  constrainedl  It  may  not  be  a beautiful 
manner  always,  but  it  is  almost  always  a natural 
manner,  a free  and  happy  manner ; and  this 
gives  pleasure!  Here  we  have,  undoubtedly,  a 
note  of  civilization,  and  an  evidence,  at  the  same 
time,  of  the  good  effect  of  equality  upon  social 
life  and  manners!  I have  often  heard  it  ob- 
served that  a perfectly  natural  manner  is  as  rare 
among  Englishwomen  of  the  middle  classes  as 
it  is  general  among  American  women  of  like 
condition  with  them|  And  so  far  as  the  observ- 
ation is  true,  the  reason  of  its  truth  no  doubt  is, 
that  the  Englishwoman  is  living  in  presence  of 


Civilisation  in  the  United  States.  169 

an  upper  class,  as  it  is  called  — in  presence, 
that  is,  of  a class  of  women  recognized  as  being 
the  right  thing  in  style  and  manner,  and  whom 
she  imagines  criticising  her  style  and  manner, 
finding  this  or  that  to  be  amiss  with  it,  this  or 
that  to  be  vulgar!  Hence,  self-consciousness  and 
constraint  in  her!  The  American  woman  lives 
in  presence  of  no  such  class  ; there  may  be  cir- 
cles trying  to  pass  themselves  off  as  such  a class, 
giving  themselves  airs  as  such,  but  they  com- 
mand no  recognition,  no  authority!  The  Amer- 
ican woman  in  general  is  perfectly  unconcerned 
•about  their  opinion,  is  herself,  enjoys  her  exist- 
ence, and  has,  consequently,  a manner  happy  and 
naturall  It  is  her  great  charm  ; and  it  is  more- 
over, as  I have  said,  a real  note  of  civilization, 
and  one  which  has  to  be  reckoned  to  the  credit 
of  American  life,  and  of  its  equality! 

But  we  must  get  nearer  still  to  the  heart  of 
the  question  raised  as  to  the  character  and  worth 
of  American  civilization!  I have  said  how  much 
the  word  civilization  really  means  — the  human- 
ization of  man  in  society ; his  making  progress 
there  towards  his  true  and  full  humanity|  Par- 
tial and  material  achievement  is  always  being 
put  forward  as  civilization!  We  hear  a nation 
called  highly  civilized  by  reason  of  its  industry, 
commerce,  and  wealth,  or  by  reason  of  its  liberty 


170  Civilization  in  the  United  States. 


or  equality,  or  by  reason  of  its  numerous 
churches,  schools,  libraries,  and  newspapers| 
But  there  is  something  in  human  nature,  some 
instinct  of  growth,  some  law  of  perfection, 
which  rebels  against  this  narrow  account  of  the 
matteil  And  perhaps  what  human  nature 
demands  in  civilization,  over  and  above  all  those 
obvious  things  which  first  occur  to  our  thoughts, 

— what  human  nature,  I say,  demands  in  civiliz- 
ation, if  it  is  to  stand  as  a high  and  satisfying 
civilization,  is  best  described  by  the  word  inter- 
estingi  Here  is  the  extraordinary  charm  of  the 
old  Greek  civilization  : that  it  is  so  interesting j 
Do  not  tell  me  only,  says  human  nature,  of  the 
magnitude  of  your  industry  and  commerce;  of 
the  beneficence  of  your  institutions,  your  free- 
dom, your  equality ; of  the  great  and  growing 
number  of  your  churches  and  schools,  libraries 
and  newpapers  ; tell  me  also  if  your  civilization 

— which  is  the  grand  name  you  give  to  all  this 
development  — tell  me  if  your  civilization  is 
interesting^ 

An  American  friend  of  mine,  Professor  Nor- 
ton, has  lately  published  the  early  letters  of 
Carlyle|  If  any  one  wants  a good  antidote  to 
the  unpleasant  effect  left  by  Mr.  Froude’s  “Life 
of  Carlyle,”  let  him  read  those  lettersf  Not 
only  of  Carlyle  will  those  letters  make  him 


Civilization  iu  the  United  States.  171 

think  kindly,  but.  they  will  also  fill  him  with 
admiring  esteem  for  the  qualities,  character,  and 
family  life,  as  there  delineated,  of  the  Scottish 
peasantl  Well,  the  Carlyle  family  were  numer- 
ous, poor,  and  struggling!  Thomas  Carlyle,  the 
eldest  son,  a young  man  in  wretched  health  and 
worse  spirits,  was  fighting  his  way  in  Edinburgh! 
One  of  his  younger  brothers  talked  of  emi- 
grating! “The  very  best  thing  he  could  do!” 
we  should  all  say|  Carlyle  dissuades  him| 
“You  shall  never,”  he  writes,  “you  shall  never 
seriously  meditate  crossing  the  great  Salt  Pool 
to  plant  yourself  in  the  Yankee-land#  That  is 
a miserable  fate  for  any  one,  at  best ; never 
dream  of  it#  Could  you  banish  yourself  from 
all  that  is  interesting  to  your  mind,  forget  the 
history,  the  glorious  institutions,  the  noble  prin- 
ciples of  old  Scotland  — that  you  might  eat  a 
better  dinner,  perhaps  $” 

There  is  our  word  launched  — the  word  inter- 
esting^ I am  not  saying  that  Carlyle’s  advice 
was  good,  or  that  young  men  should  not  emi- 
grate# I do  but  take  note,  in  the  word  interest- 
ing, of  a requirement,  a cry  of  aspiration,  a cry 
not  sounding  in  the  imaginative  Carlyle’s  own 
breast  only,  but  sure  of  a response  in  his 
brother’s  breast  also,  and  in  human  nature# 
Amiel,  that  contemplative  Swiss  whose  jour- 


172  Civilization  in  the  United  States. 

nals  the  world  has  been  reading  lately,  tells  us 
that  “the  human  heart  is,  as  it  were,  haunted 
by  confused  reminiscences  of  an  age  of  gold  ; 
or,  rather,  by  aspirations  towards  a harmony  of 
things  which  every  day  reality  denies  to  u^” 
He  says  that  the  splendor  and  refinement  of 
high  life  is  an  attempt  by  the  rich  and  culti- 
vated classes  to  realize  this  ideal,  and  is  “ a 
form  of  poetryf’  And  the  interest  which  this 
attempt  awakens  in  the  classes  which  are  not 
rich  or  cultivated,  their  indestructible  interest 
in  the  pageant  and  fairy  tale,  as  to  them  it 
appears,  of  the  life  in  castles  and  palaces,  the 
life  of  the  great,  bears  witness  to  a like  imagi- 
native strain  in  them  also,  a strain  tending  after 
the  elevated  and  the  beautiful!  In  short,  what 
Goethe  describes  as  “was  uns  alle  bandigt,  das 
Gemeine — that  which  holds  us  all  in  bondage, 
the  common  and  ignoble,”  is,  notwithstanding 
its  admitted  prevalence,  contrary  to  a deep- 
seated  instinct  of  human  nature,  and  repelled 
by  it*  Of  civilization,  which  is  to  humanize  us 
in  society,  we  demand,  before  we  will  consent 
to  be  satisfied  with  it  — we  demand,  however 
much  else  it  may  give  us,  that  it  shall  give  us, 
too,  the  interesting 

Now,  the  great  sources  of  the  interesting  are 
distinction  and  beauty : that  which  is  elevated, 


Civilisation  in  the  United  States.  173 


and  that  which  is  beautifull  Let  us  take  the 
beautiful  first,  and  consider  how  far  it  is  present 
in  American  civilization!  Evidently,  this  is  that 
civilization’s  weak  side|  There  is  little  to  nour- 
ish and  delight  the  sense  of  beauty  therd)  In 
the  long-settled  states  east  of  the  Alleghanies 
the  landscape  in^general  is  not  interesting,  the 
climate  harsh  and  in  extremes!  The  Americans 
are  restless,  eager  to  better  themselves  and  to 
make  fortunes ; the  inhabitant  does  not  strike 
his  roots  lovingly  down  into  the  soil,  as  in  rural 
England!  In  the  valley  of  the  Connecticut  you 
will  find  farm  after  farm  which  the  Yankee  set- 
tler has  abandoned  in  order  to  go  West,  leaving 
the  farm  to  some  new  Irish  immigrant!  The 
charm  of  beauty  which  comes  from  ancientness 
and  permanence  of  rural  life  the  country  could 
not  yet  have  in  a high  degree,  but  it  has  it  in 
an  even  less  degree  than  might  be  expected! 
Then  the  Americans  come  originally,  for  the 
most  part,  from  that  great  class  in  English 
society  amongst  whom  the  sense  for  conduct 
and  business  is  much  more  strongly  developed 
than  the  sense  for  beauty!  If  we  in  England 
were  without  the  cathedrals,  parish  churches, 
and  castles  of  the  catholic  and  feudal  age,  and 
without  the  houses  of  the  Elizabethan  age,  but 
had  only  the  towns  and  buildings  which  the  rise 


174  Civilization  in  the  United  Slates. 

of  our  middle  class  has  created  in  the  modern 
age,  we  should  be  in  much  the  same  case  as  the 
Americans!  We  should  be  living  with  much 
the  same  absence  of  training  for  the  sense  of 
beauty  through  the  eye,  from  the  aspect  of  out- 
ward things!  The  American  cities  have  hardly 
anything  to  please  a trained  or  a natural  sense 
tor  beauty|  They  have  buildings  which  cost  a 
great  deal  of  money  and  produce  a certain  effect 
— buildings,  shall  I say,  such  as  our  Midland 
Station  at  St.  Pancras ; but  nothing  such  as 
Somerset  House  or  Whitehall!  One  architect 
of  genius  they  had  — Richardson!  I had  the 
pleasure  to  know  him  : he  is  dead,  alas!  Much 
of  his  work  was  injured  by  the  conditions  under 
which  he  was  obliged  to  execute  it  ; I can  recall 
but  one  building,  and  that  of  no  great  import- 
ance, where  he  seems  to  have  had  his  own  way, 
to  be  fully  himself  ; but  that  is  indeed  excellent 
In  general,  where  the  Americans  succeed  best 
l^-in  their  architecture  — in  that  art  so  indicative 
and  educative  of  a people’s  sense  fo.r  beauty  — 
^is  in  the  fashion  of  their  villa-cottages  in  woodl 
These  are  often  original  and  at  the  same  time 
very  pleasing,  but  they  are  pretty  and  coquet- 
tish, not  beautiful!  Of  the  really  beautiful  in 
the  other  arts,  and  in  literature,  very  little  has 
been  produced  there  as  yet|  I asked  a German 


Civilization  in  the  U7iited  States.  175 


portrait-painter,  whom  I found  painting  and 
prospering  in  America,  how  he  liked  the  coun- 
try! “ How  can  an  artist  like  it  ? ” was  his 
answer!  The  American  artists  live  chiefly  in 
Europe  ; all  Americans  of  cultivation  and  wealth 
visit  Europe  more  and  more  constantly!  The 
mere  nomenclature  of  the  country  acts  upon  a 
cultivated  person  like  the  incessant  pricking  of 
pinsj  What  people  in  whom  the  sense  for 
beauty  and  fitness  was  quick  could  have  in- 
vented, or  could  tolerate,  the  hideous  names 
ending  in  ville,  the  Briggsvilles,  Higginsvilles, 
Jacks  on  villes,  rife  from  Maine  to  Florida  ; the 
jumble  of  unnatural  and  inappropriate  names 
everywhere  8 On  the  line  from  Albany  to 
Buffalo  you  have,  in  one  part,  half  the  names  in 
the  classical  dictionary  to  designate  the  stations  ; 
it  is  said  that  the  folly  is  due  to  a surveyor 
who,  when  the  country  was  laid  out,  happened 
to  possess  a classical  dictionary ; but  a people 
with  any  artist-sense  would  have  put  down  that 
surveyor^  The  Americans  meekly  retain  his 
names  ; and,  indeed,  his  strange  Marcellus  or 
Syracuse  is  perhaps  not  much  worse  than  their 
congenital  BriggsvilleJ 

So  much  as  to  beauty,  and  as  to  the  provision, 
in  the  United  States,  for  the  sense  of  beautyt 
As  to  distinction,  and  the  interest  which  human 


176  Civilization  in  the  United  States. 

nature  seeks  from  enjoying  the  effect  made  up- 
on it  by  what  is  elevated,  the  case  is  much  the 
samel  There  is  very  little  to  create  such  an 
effect,  very  much  to  thwart  itf  Goethe  says 
somewhere  that  “ the  thrill  of  awe  is  the  best 
thing  humanity  has  ” : — 

Das  Schaudern  ist  der  Menschheit  bestes  Theil. 

But,  if  there  be  a discipline  in  which  the  Amer- 
icans are  wanting,  it  is  the  discipline  of  awe  and 
respect!  An  austere  and  intense  religion  im- 
posed on  their  Puritan  founders  the  discipline  of 
respect,  and  so  provided  for  them  the  thrill  of 
awe  ; but  this  religion  is  dying  out|  The 
Americans  have  produced  plenty  of  men  strong, 
shrewd,  upright,  able,  effective  ; very  few  who 
are  highly  distinguished!  Alexander  Hamilton 
is  indeed  a man  of  rare  distinction  ; Washing- 
ton, though  he  has  not  the  high  mental  distinc- 
tion of  Pericles  or  Caesar,  has  true  distinction 
of  style  and  character!  But  these  men  belong 
to  the  pre-American  age|  Lincoln’s  recent 
American  biographers  declare  that  Washington 
is  but  an  Englishman,  an  English  officer  ; the 
typical  American,  they  say,  is  Abraham,  Lin- 
coln! Now  Lincoln  is  shrewd,  sagacious,  hu- 
morous, honest,  courageous,  firm ; he  is  a man 


Civilization  in  the  United  States.  177 

with  qualities  deserving  the  most  sincere  es- 
teem and  praise,  but  he  has  not  distinction^  ^ 

In  truth,  everything  is  against  distinction  in 
America,  and  against  the  sense  of  elevation  to 
be  gained  through  admiring  and  respecting  it| 
The  glorification  of  “ the  average  man,”  who  is 
quite  a religion  with  statesmen  and  publicists 
there,  is  against  itj  The  addiction  to  “the 
funny  man,”  who  is  a national  misfortune  there, 
is  against  id  Above  all,  the  newspapers  are 
against  itl 

It  is  often  said  that  every  nation  has  the  gov- 
ernment it  deserves!  What  is  much  more  cer- 
tain is  that  every  nation  has  the  newspapers  it 
deservesl  The  newspaper  is  the  direct  product 
of  the  want  felt ; the  supply  answers  closely  and 
inevitably  to  the  demandl  I suppose  no  one 
knows  what  the  American  newspapers  are,  who 
has  not  been  obliged,  for  some  length  of  time, 
to  read  either  those  newspapers  or  none  at  all! 
Powerful  and  valuable  contributions  occur  scat- 
tered about  in  them*  ("But  on  the  whole,  and 
taking  the  total  impression  and  effect  made  by 
them,  I should  say  that  if  one  were  searching 
for  the  best  means  to  efface  and  kill  in  a whole 
nation  the  discipline  of  respect,  the  feeling  for 
what  is  elevated,  one  could  not  do  better  than 
take  the  American  newspaper^  The  absence 


178  Civilization  in  the  United  States. 

of  truth  and  soberness  in  them,  the  poverty  in 
serious  interest,  the  personality  and  sensation- 
mongering,  are  beyond  belief}  There  are  a 
few  newspapers  which  are  in  whole,  or  in  part, 
exceptions!  The  New  York  Nation , a weekly 
paper,  may  be  paralleled  with  the  Saturday 
Review  as  it  was  in  its  old  and  good  days  ; but 
the  New  York  Nation  is  conducted  by  a for- 
eigner, and  has  an  extremely  small  sale!  In 
general,  the  daily  papers  are  such  that  when  one 
returns  home  one  is  moved  to  admiration  and 
thankfulness  not  only  at  the  great  London  pa- 
pers, like  the  Times  or  the  Standard,  but  quite 
as  much  at  the  great  provincial  newspapers,  too, 
— papers  like  the  Leeds  Mercury  and  the  York- 
shire Post  in  the  north  of  England,  like  the 
Scotsman  and  the  Glasgow  Herald  in  Scotland} 
The  Americans  used  to  say  to  me  that  what 
they  valued  was  news,  and  that  this  their  newspa- 
pers gave  them!  I at  last  made  the  reply:  “ Yes, 
news  for  the  servants’  hall  J”  I remember  that 
a New  York  newspaper,  one  of  the  first  I saw 
after  landing  in  the  country,  had  a long  account, 
with  the  prominence  we  should  give  to  the  ill- 
ness of  the  German  Emperor  or  the  arrest  of 
the  Lord  Mayor  of  Dublin,  of  a young  woman 
who  had  married  a man  who  was  a bag  of  bones, 
as  we  say,  and  who  used  to  exhibit  himself  as  a 


Civilization  in  the  United  States.  179 

skeleton  ; of  her  growing  horror  in  living  with 
this  man,  and  finally  of  her  deathl  All  this  in 
the  most  minute  detail,  and  described  with  all 
the  writer’s  powers  of  rhetoric.  This  has  al- 
ways remained  by  me  as  a specimen  of  what  the 
Americans  call  news! 

You  must  have  lived  amongst  their  news- 
papers to  know  what  they  arei  If  I relate  some 
of  my  own  experiences,  it  is  because  these  will 
give  a clear  enough  notion  of  what  the  news- 
papers over  there  are,  and  one  remembers  more 
definitely  what  has  happened  to  oneselfl  Soon 
after  arriving  in  Boston,  I opened  a Boston 
newspaper  and  came  upon  a column  headed : 
“Tickings!”  By  tickings  we  are  to  understand 
news  conveyed  through  the  tickings  of  the  tele- 
graphl  The  first  “ticking”  was:  “Matthew  l 
Arnold  is  sixty-two  years  old  ” — an  age,  I must 
just  say  in  passing,  which  I had  not  then 
reachedl  The  second  “ticking”  was:  “Wales  V” 
says,  Mary  is  a darling  ” ; the  meaning  being  that 
the  Prince  of  Wales  expressed  great  admiration 
for  Miss  Mary  Anderson!  This  was  at  Boston, 
the  American  Athensl  I proceeded  to  Chicago. 

An  evening  paper  was  given  me  soon  after 
I arrived ; I opened  it,  and  found  under  a ^ 
large-type  heading,  “ We  have  seen  him  ar- 
rivethe  following  picture  of  myself : “ He 


Civilization  in  the  United  States. 


has  harsh  features,  supercilious  manners,  parts 
his  hair  down  the  middle,  wears  a single  eye- 
glass and  ill-fitting  clothes|”  Notwithstanding 
this  rather  unfavorable  introduction,  I was  most 
kindly  and  hospitably  received  at  Chicago!  It 
happened  that  I had  a letter  for  Mr.  Medill,  an 
elderly  gentleman  of  Scotch  descent,  the  editor 
of  the  chief  newspaper  in  those  parts,  the  Chi- 
cago Tribun 4 I called  on  him,  and  we  con- 
versed amicably  togetherl  Some  time  after- 
wards, when  I had  gone  back  to  England,  a 
New  York  paper  published  a criticism  of  Chi- 
cago and  its  people,  purporting  to  have  been 
contributed  by  me  to  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette 
over  here!  It  was  a poor  hoax,  but  many  peo- 
ple were  taken  in  and  were  excusably  angryl 
Mr.  Medill  of  the  Chicago  Tribune  amongst  the 
numbeit  A friend  telegraphed  to  me  to  know 
if  I had  written  the  criticism®  I,  of  course,  in- 
stantly telegraphed  back  that  I had  not  written 
a syllable  of  itl  Then  a Chicago  paper  is  sent 
to  me  ; and  what  I have  the  pleasure  of  reading, 
as  the  result  of  my  contradiction,  is  this  : “Ar- 
nold denies  ; Mr.  Medill  [my  old  friend]  refuses 
to  accept  Arnold’s  disclaimer  ; says  Arnold  is  a 

£urr 

I once  declared  that  in  England  the  born 
lover  of  ideas  and  of  light  could  not  but  feel 


Civilization  in  the  United  States.  1 8 1 


that  the  sky  over  his  head  is  of  brass  and  iron| 
And  so  I say  that,  in  America,  he  who  craves 
for  the  interesting  in  civilization,  he  who  re- 
quires  from  what  surrounds  him  satisfaction  for 
his  sense  of  beauty,  his  sense  for  elevation,  will 
feel  the  sky  over  his  head  to  be  of  brass  and 
ironf  The  human  problem,  then,  is  as  yet 
solved  in  the  United  States  most  imperfectly ; 
a great  yoid  exists  in  the  civilization  over  there-p 
a want  of  what  is  elevated  and  beautify!,  of 
what  is  interesting! 

The  want  is  grave  ; it  was  probably,  though 
he  does  not  exactly  bring  it  out,  influencing  Sir 
Lepel  Griffin’s  feelings  when  he  said  that  Amer- 
ica is  one  of  the  last  countries  in  which  one 
would  like  to  livel  The  want  is  such  as  to 
make  any  educated  man  feel  that  many  coun- 
tries, much  less  free  and  prosperous  than  the 
United  States,  are  yet  more  truly  civilized ; 
have  more  which  is  interesting,  have  more  to 
say  to  the  soul  ; are  countries,  therefore,  in 
which  one  would  rather  livel 

The  want  is  graver  because  it  is  so  little  rec- 
ognized by  the  mass  of  Americans ; nay,  so 
loudly  denied  by  theml  If  the  community  over 
there  perceived  the  want  and  regretted  it,  sought 
for  the  right  ways  of  remedying  it,  and  resolved 
that  remedied  it  should  be  ; if  they  said,  or 


1 82  Civilisation  in  the  United  States. 

even  if  a number  of  leading  spirits  amongst 
them  said:  “Yes,  we  see  what  is  wanting  to 
our  civilization,  we  see  that  the  average  man  is 
a danger,  we  see  that  our  newspapers  are  a 
scandal,  that  bondage  to  the  common  and  igno- 
ble is  our  snare  ; but  under  the  circumstances 
our  civilization  could  not  well  have  been  ex- 
pected to  begin  differentl)|  What  you  see  are 
beginnings,  they  are  crude,  they  are  too  pre- 
dominantly material,  they  omit  much,  leave 
much  to  be  desired  — but  they  could  not  have 
been  otherwise,  they  have  been  inevitable,  and 
we  will  rise  above  them  ” ; if  the  Americans 
frankly  said  this,  one  would  have  not  a word  to 
bring  against  itl  One  would  then  insist  on  no 
shortcoming,  one  would  accept  their  admission 
that  the  human  problem  is  at  present  quite  in- 
sufficiently solved  by  them,  and  would  press  the 
matter  no  further!  One  would  congratulate 
them  on  having  solved  the  political  problem 
and  the  social  problem  so  successfully,  and  only 
remark,  as  I have  said  already,  that  in  seeing 
clear  and  thinking  straight  on  our  political  and 
social  questions,  we  have  great  need  to  follow 
the  example  they  set  us  on  theirs! 

But  now  the  Americans  seem,  in  certain  mat- 
ters, to  have  agreed,  as  a people,  to  deceive 
themselves,  to  persuade  themselves  that  they 


Civilization  in  the  United  States.  183 

have  what  they  have  not,  to  cover  the  defects 
in  their  civilization  by  boasting,  to  fancy  that 
they  well  and  truly  solve,  not  only  the  political 
and  social  problem,  but  the  human  problem  tool 
One  would  say  that  they  do  really  hope  to  find 
in  tall  talk  and  inflated  sentiment  a substitute 
for  that  real  sense  of  elevation  which  human 
nature,  as  I have  said,  instinctively  craves  — 
and  a substitute  which  may  do  as  well  as  the 
genuine  articleJ  The  thrill  of  awe,  which  Goethe 
pronounces  to  be  the  best  thing  humanity  has, 
they  would  fain  create  by  proclaiming  them- 
selves at  the  top  of  their  voices  to  be  “the 
greatest  nation  upon  earth,”  by  assuring  one 
another,  in  the  language  of  their  national  his- 
torian, that  “ American  democracy  proceeds  in 
its  ascent  as  uniformly  and  majestically  as  the 
laws  of  being,  and  is  as  certain  as  the  decrees 
of  eternity!” 

Or,  again,  far  from  admitting  that  their  news- 
papers are  a scandal,  they  assure  one  another 
that  their  newspaper  press  is  one  of  their  most 
signal  distinctions!  Far  from  admitting  that  in 
literature  they  have  as  yet  produced  little  that 
is  important,  they  play  at  treating  American 
literature  as  if  it  were  a great  independent 
power ; they  reform  the  spelling  of  the  English 
language  by  the  insight  of  their  average  manV 


184  Civilization  in  the  United  States. 

For  every  English  writer  they  have  an  American 
writer  to  match  ; and  him  good  Americans  readl 
The  Western  States  are  at  this  moment  being 
nourished  and  formed,  we  hear,  on  the  novels 
of  a native  author  called  Roe,  instead  of  those 
of  Scott  and  Dickensf  Far  from  admitting  that 
their  average  man  is  a danger,  and  that  his  pre- 
dominance has  brought  about  a plentiful  lack  of 
refinement,  distinction,  and  beauty,  they  declare 
in  the  words  of  my  friend  Colonel  Higginson,  a 
prominent  critic  at  Boston,  that  “ Nature  said, 
some  years  since:  ‘Thus  far  the  English  is  my 
best  race,  but  we  have  had  Englishmen  enough  ; 
put  in  one  drop  more  of  nervous  fluid  and  make 
the  American!’  ” And  with  that  drop  a new 
range  of  promise  opened  on  the  human  race, 
and  a lighter,  finer,  more  highly  organized  type 
of  mankind  was  born!  Far  from  admitting  that 
the  American  accent,  as  the  pressure  of  their 
climate  and  of  their  average  man  has  made  it, 
is  a thing  to  be  striven  against,  they  assure  one 
another  that  it  is  the  right  accent,  the  standard 
English  speech  of  the  future!  It  reminds  me 
of  a thing  in  Smollet’s  dinner-party  of  author^ 
Seated  by  “the  philosopher  who  is  writing  a 
most  orthodox  refutation  of  Bolingbroke,  but  in 
the  meantime  has  just  been  presented  to  the 
Grand  Jury  as  a public  nuisance  for  having 


Civilization  in  the  United  States.  185 

blasphemed  in  an  alehouse  on  the  Lord’s  day  ” 
— seated  by  this  philosopher  is  “ the  Scotch- 
man who  is  giving  lectures  on  the  pronunciation 
of  the  English  languagel” 

The  worst  of  it  is,  that  all  this  tall  talk  and 
self-glorification  meets  with  hardly  any  rebuke 
from  sane  criticism  over  there!  I will  mention, 
in  regard  to  this,  a thing  which  struck  me  a 
good  dealt  A Scotchman  who  has  made  a 
great  fortune  at  Pittsburg,  a kind  friend  of 
mine,  one  of  the  most  hospitable  and  gener- 
ous of  men,  Mr.  Andrew  Carnegie,  published 
a year  or  two  ago  a book  called  “ Triumphant 
Democracy,”  a most  splendid  picture  of  Ameri- 
can progressl  The  book  is  full  of  valuable 
information,  but  religious  people  thought  that 
it  insisted  too  much  on  mere  material  progress, 
and  did  not  enough  set  forth  America’s  defi- 
ciencies and  dangersl  And  a friendly  clergy- 
man in  Massachusetts,  telling  me  how  he  re- 
gretted this,  and  how  apt  the  Americans  are 
to  shut  their  eyes  to  their  own  dangers,  put 
into  my  hands  a volume  written  by  a leading 
minister  among  the  Congregationalists,  a very 
prominent  man,  which  he  said  supplied  a good 
antidote  to  my  friend  Mr.  Carnegie’s  book) 
The  volume  is  entitled  “ Our  Country^’  I read 
it  through^  The  author  finds  in  evangelical 


1 86  Civilization  in  the  United  States. 

Protestanism,  as  the  orthodox  Protestant  sects 
present  it,  the  grand  remedy  for  the  deficiencies 
and  dangers  of  Americal  On  this  I offer  no 
criticism  ; what  struck  me,  and  that  on  which 
I wish  to  lay  stress,  is,  the  writer’s  entire  fail- 
ure to  perceive  that  such  self-glorification  and 
self-deception  as  I have  been  mentioning  is  one 
of  America’s  dangers,  or  even  that  it  is  self-de- 
ception at  ally  He  himself  shares  in  all  the 
self-deception  of  the  average  man  among  his 
countrymen  ; he  flatters  itl  In  the  very  points 
where  a serious  critic  would  find  the  Americans 
most  wanting  he  finds  them  superior  ; only  they 
require  to  have  a good  dose  of  evangelical  Prot- 
estantism still  addedl  “ Ours  is  the  elect  na- 
tion,” preaches  this  reformer  of  American 
faults  — “ ours  is  the  elect  nation  for  the  age 
to  come!  We  are  the  chosen  people!”  Al- 
ready, says  he,  we  are  taller  and  heavier  than 
other  men,  longer  lived  than  other  men,  richer 
and  more  energetic  than  other  men,  above  all, 
“of  finer  nervous  organization”  than  other  men! 
Yes,  this  people,  who  endure  to  have  the  Ameri- 
can newspaper  for  their  daily  reading,  and  to 
have  their  habitation  in  Briggsville,  Jacksonville, 
and  Marcellus  — this  people  is  of  finer,  more  deli- 
cate nervous  organization  than  other  nations  t It 
is  Colonel  Higginson’s  “ drop  more  of  nervous 


Civilization  in  the  United  States.  187 


fluid,”  over  again|  This  “ drop  ” plays  a stupen- 
dous part  in  the  American  rhapsody  of  self-praise! 
Undoubtedly  the  Americans  are  highly  nervous, 
both  the  men  and  the  women!  A great  Paris 
physician  sayjTThat^fre'Tiotes  “a  distinct  new 
form  of  nervous  disease,  produced  in  American 
women  by  worry  about  servants!  But  this  ner- 
vousness, developed  in  the  race  out  there  by 
worry,  overwork,  want  of  exercise,  injudicious 
diet,  and  a most  trying  climate  — this  morbid 
nervousness,  our  friends  ticket  as  the  fine  sus- 
ceptibility of  genius,  and  cite  it  as  a proof  of 
their  distinction,  of  their  superior  capacity  for 
civilization  } “ The  roots  of  civilization  are  the 
nerves,”  says  our  Congregationalist  instructor, 
again ; “ and,  other  things  being  equal,  the 
finest  nervous  organization  will  produce  the 
highest  civilization!  Now,  the  finest  nervous 
organization  is  oursf’ 

The  new  West  promises  to  beat  in  the  game 
of  brag  even  the  stout  champions  I have  been 
quoting!  Those  belong  to  the  old  Eastern 
States  ; and  the  other  day  there  was  sent  to 
me  a Californian  newspaper  which  calls  all  the 
Easterners  “ the  unhappy  denizens  of  a forbid- 
ding clime,”  and  adds  : “ The  time  wifl  surely 
come  when  all  roads  will  lead  to  California! 
Here  will  be  the  home  of  art,  science,  litera- 
ture, and  profound  knowledge^’ 


1 88  Civilization  in  the  United  States. 

Common-sense  criticism,  I repeat,  of  all  this 
hollow  stuff  there  is  in  America  next  to  nonei 
There  are  plenty  of  cultivated,  judicious,  de- 
lightful individuals  theref  They  are  our  hope 
and  America’s  hope  ; it  is  through  their  means 
that  improvement  must  come!|  They  know  per- 
fectly well  how  false  and  hollow  the  boastful 
stuff  talked  is ; but  they  let  the  storm  of  self- 
laudation rage,  and  say  nothingl  For  political 
opponents  and  their  doings  there  are  in  America 
hard  words  to  be  heard  in  abundance  ; for  the 
real  faults  in  American  civilization,  and  for  the 
foolish  boasting  which  prolongs  them,  there  is 
hardly  a word  of  regret  or  blame,  at  least  in 
publicl  Even  in  private,  many  of  the  most  cul- 
tivated Americans  shrink  from  the  subject,  are 
irritable  and  thin-skinned  when  it  is  canvassed! 
Public  treatment  of  it,  in  a cool  and  sane  spirit 
of  criticism,  there  is  nonej  Df  vain  I might 
plead  that  I had  set  a good  example  of  frank- 
ness, in  confessing  over  here,  that,  so  far  from 
solving  our  problems  successfully,  we  in  Eng- 
land find  ourselves  with  an  upper  class  materi- 
alized, a middle  class  vulgarized,  and  a lower 
class  brutalized|  But  it  seems  that  nothing 
will  embolden  an  American  critic  to  say  firmly 
and  aloud  to  his  countrymen  and  to  his  news- 
papers, that  in  America  they  do  not  solve  the 


Civilization  in  the  United  States.  189 

human  problem  successfully,  and  that  with  their 
present  methods  they  never  can|  Consequently, 
the  masses  of  the  American  people  do  really 
come  to  believe  all  they  hear  about  their  finer 
nervous  organization,  and  the  rightness  of  the 
American  accent,  and  the  importance  of  Amer- 
ican literature;  that  is  to  say,  they  see  things 
not  as  they  are,  but  as  they  would  like  them  to 
be ; they  deceive  themselves  totally^  And  by 
such  self-deception  they  shut  against  them- 
selves the  door  to  improvement,  and  do  their 
best  to  make  the  reign  of  das  G'emeine  eternall 
In  what  concerns  the  solving  of  the  political 
and  social  problem  they  see  clear  and  think 
straight ; in  what  concerns  the  higher  civiliza- 
tion they  live  in  a fools’  paradise^  This  it  is 
which  makes  a famous  French  critic  speak  of 
“the  hard  unintelligence  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States  ” — la  ditre  inintelligence  des 
Americains  du  Nord  — of  the  very  people  who 
in  general  pass  for  being  specially  intelligent ; 
and  so,  within  certain  limits,  they  aref  But 
they  have  been  so  plied  with  nonsense  and 
boasting  that  outside  those  limits,  and  where  it 
is  a question  of  things  in  which  their  civilization 
is  weak,  they  seem,  very  many  of  them,  as  if  in 
such  things  they  had  no  power  of  perception 
whatever,  no  idea  of  a proper  scale,  no  sense  of 


190  Civilization  in  the  United  States. 

the  difference  between  good  and  badl  And  at 
this  rate  they  can  never,  after  solving  the  polit- 
ical and  social  problem  with  success,  go  on  to 
solve  happily  the  human  problem  too,  and  thus 
at  last  to  make  their  civilization  full  and  inter- 
esting! 

To  sum  up,  then.  What  really  dissatisfies  in 
American'  civilization  is  the  want  of  the  inter- 
esting. a want  due  chiefly  to  the  want  of  those 
two  great  elements  of  the  interesting,  which 
are  elevation  and  beauty!  And  the  want  of 
these  elements  is  increased  and  prolonged  by 
the  Americans  being  assured  that  they  have 
them  when  they  have  them  not^  And  it  seems 
to  me  that  what  the  Americans  now  most 
urgently  require,  is  not  so  much  a vast  addi- 
tional development  of  orthodox  Protestantism, 
but  rather  a steady  exhibition  of  cool  and  sane 
criticism  by  their  men  of  light  and  leading  over 
theref  And  perhaps  the  very  first  step  of  such 
men  should  be  to  insist  on  having  for  America, 
and  to  create  if  need  be,  better  rrbwspapers| 

To  us,  too,  the  future  of  the  United  States  is 
of  incalculable  importance)!  Already  we  feel 
their  influence  much,  and  we  shall  feel  it  more| 
We  have  a good  deal  to  learn  from  them ; we 
shall  find  in  them,  also,  many  things  to  beware 
of,  many  points  in  which  it  is  to  be  hoped  our 


Civilization  in  the  United  States.  191 

democracy  may  not  be  like  theirs!  As  our 
country  becomes  more  democratic,  the  malady 
here  may  no  longer  be  that  we  have  an  upper 
class  materialized,  a middle  class  vulgarized, 
and  a lower  class  brutalized!  But  the  predomi- 
nance of  the  common  and  ignoble,  born  of  the 
predominance  of  the  average  man,  is  a malady 
too!  That  the  common  and  ignoble  is  human 
nature’s  enemy,  that,  of  true  human  nature, 
distinction  and  beauty  are  needs,  that  a civiliza- 
tion is  insufficient  where  these  needs  are  not 
satisfied,  faulty  where  they  are  thwarted,  is  an 
instruction  of  which  we,  as  well  as  the  Ameri- 
cans, may  greatly  require  to  take  fast  hold,  and 
not  to  let  gol  We  may  greatly  require  to  keep, 
as  if  it  were  our  life,  the  doctrine  that  we  are 
failures  after  all,  if  we  cannot  eschew  vain 
boasting  and  vain  imaginations,  — eschew  what 
flatters  in  us  the  common  and  ignoble,  and 
approve  things  that  are  truly  excellent! 

I have  mentioned  evangelical  Protestantisml 
There  is  a text  which  evangelical  Protestantism 
— and,  for  that  matter,  Catholicism  too  — trans- 
lates wrong  and  takes  in  a sense  too  narrow! 
The  text  is  that  well-known  one,  “ except  a 
man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom 
of  Godf’  Instead  of  again , we  ought  to  trans- 
late from  above;  and  instead  of  taking  the 


192  Civilization  in  the  United  States. 

kingdom  of  God  in  the  sense  of  a life  in  Heave* 
above,  we  ought  to  take  it,  as  its  speaker  meant 
it,  in  the,  sense  of  the  reign  of  saints,  a reno- 
vated and  perfected  human  society  on  earth,  — 
the  ideal  society  of  the  future!  In  the  life  of 
such  a society,  in  the  life  from  above,  the  life 
born  of  inspiration  or  the  spirit  — in  that  life 
elevation  and  beauty  are  not  everything ; but 
they  are  much,  and  they  are  indispensablel 
Humanity  cannot  reach  its  ideal  while  it  lacks 
them,  “ Except  a man  be  born  from  above,  he 
cannot  have  part  in  the  society  of  the  future!’ 


i.  Loti  i h 

z.  fre wlf 

T Ht  i.roiv  , 
L\.  ^V** 


85  A757CX 


